Eclipse
by Eternalangel15
Summary: She wasn't quite sure why she had been saved by that blonde-haired girl. All she knew was that she was finally free. Now with a new name and new friends, Moon sets out on a journey through Alola. But with the organization she had escaped from after her, dark truths will be brought to light as Moon discovers who she is. (Based on Pokémon Sun and Moon)
1. A New Beginning

**A/N:** Many of you are probably wondering why I'm starting a third story, and well I just like doing a lot. But as promised, here's my Sun and Moon story. Just so you guys know, this story will diverge from that of the games in some characters and plot. Why? Because I haven't played the games. I only know what I know through reading summaries about what happened. So hopefully you guys enjoy. My updates will be spaced out like many of my other stories, but know that I'm excited to write this. I'm going to try to go wild on this story to make it fun and enjoyable to read. So please enjoy and do not hesitate to review! I thrive on reviews. They give me the strength to continue to write.

And before I forget, due to many messages I have gotten about Gravity Rises, I will try to update the next chapter some time next week. If not, definitely by the following week. It makes me happy that many of you still want me to finish that story despite how much it looks like I have given up on writing it. Thank you all for your continuous support!

* * *

 **Ch. 1: A New Beginning**

 _ERRRRRRR! ERRRRRRR! ERRRRRRR!_

The sound wailed throughout the building as bright red lights flashed like beacons. In the midst of the confusion, running tirelessly in the redden lit passageways were two girls. One of the girls, a blonde haired girl with bright green eyes who wore a white dress, hat, and shoes, was carrying a white bag on her shoulder, while holding onto the other girl running beside her. While the blonde-haired girl's clothes looked fancy, the other girl's clothes looked plain and simple. Her clothes consisted of a plain white shirt with a code written on the sleeve and plain white pants with no shoes on. Her dark gray hair, which was halfway down to her shoulders, looked quite unkempt like she hadn't brushed it for years. And yet despite what she was wearing, her dark black eyes reflected wild emotions that pulsated with each sound the sirens made.

"They're over here! I've found them!" A male voice called out not too far away.

Both of the girls turned their heads behind with fear seeing two men wearing white uniforms running towards them. Upon seeing them, the blonde-haired girl picked up speed pulling the other girl along. They scampered around the corner coming out of the dark passageway to a pale white platform in a brightly lit room. The platform had railings, while in the middle of it had a triangular platform that had blue rails connected to it to a higher level. The blonde-haired girl led the other girl to the triangular section without haste and pressed a button taking a moment after to catch her breath. They both then watched as the railings shot up from out of the ground in the triangular platform as it began to rise with ease. The two men that had just run into the room could only watch as the two girls disappeared from their line of sight.

When the elevator came to a stop, the blonde-haired girl wasted no time to grab the other girl's hand and lead her off of the machine. As they ran through the new passageways looking for the exit, the other girl found herself staring at her surroundings soaking everything in. She had never seen the blue cloudy sky, which could be seen through the ceiling, nor the vegetation that could be seen growing around the room. She had always only remembered seeing darkness.

"Stop!" A male voice called out behind them.

The blonde-haired girl tightened her grip on the other girl and picked up her speed running faster than before with the other girl struggling to keep up. They continued running down the passageway making turns in every corner until another man in a white uniform scampered out of one of the corners. The two girls skidded to a stop upon seeing the man. They turned to run towards the other direction they had came from, but stopped as soon as they saw two more men walking towards them with their arms outstretched. They were trapped.

As the men closed onto them, the blond-haired girl, with fear visible in her eyes, pulled the other girl behind her with the bag as well towards the fence. One of the men chuckled at seeing this.

"You cannot escape girl. Return UH-01 and Cosmog and you will not be punished for your actions."

The dark-haired girl shuddered immediately upon hearing that name, UH-01. Her face grew paler as unwanted memories began to resurface of her being called that name along with unbearable pain; of the times when she was trapped in utter darkness with only that name to go by. She wrapped her arms around herself now suddenly becoming pale. SHE was going to find her. And then the pain would be inflicted onto her, HER most beautiful creation. She didn't want that. She couldn't handle that, no not again.

"I won't let you!" A gentle and caring voice called out with determination. The dark-haired girl was shaken out of her fear and looked up to see the blonde-haired timidity glaring, yet surely with courage, at the man who had gave her the warning. "They don't belong to you!" she said.

The man glared with anger at the blonde-haired girl and took a step forward grinning with his hands outstretched towards the two girls. "Well, no matter. I was told to not use force, but I suppose that won't be happening."

The man took another step inching closer to the girls with the other men doing the same. The dark-haired girl watched in fear as they inched closer to them. She wanted to escape. She did not want to go back to the pitch black darkness she called her home. She was afraid to go back.

But one touch from the blonde-haired girl's hand made her relax. She found herself looking up at the blonde staring at bright green eyes. While they reflected emotions of fear, they also reflected emotions of determination and compassion, emotions SHE had never once reflected in her eyes before.

"Don't be afraid." The blonde-haired girl whispered timidly to the dark-haired girl as one of the men ran to reach for her arm. "I-it will be fine."

Suddenly, a bright blue light pulsated from the bag the blonde-haired girl had been carrying over her shoulder. The men backed away in confusion as the light grew brighter, forcing them to close their eyes. In the intensity of the light, both of the girls felt their bodies began to rise. They watched as their surroundings suddenly shifted and swirled with blue and white colors. They felt their bodies being thrust forward with speed as if they were on a rollercoaster. Amongst all the confusion, the dark-haired girl fought to stay ahold of the blonde-haired girl's hand, but the intensity of the light and speed they were going through forced her hand to slip. She could only watched as the blonde-haired girl opened her mouth, hand outstretched, saying something before she disappeared leaving the other behind. She watched in fear as the speed and intensity of the colors of light began to die down. Eventually, the dark-haired girl felt herself slip away to darkness, the one thing she had wanted to escape from.

Meanwhile, when the men in white uniforms opened their eyes, they were met with an empty spot that the two girls were last seen standing on. The two girls had disappeared as if they never there in the first place, making their job a lot harder than it should have possibly been.

* * *

"When do you think she's going to wake up?" Chittered a male voice.

"I don't know Hau. Mom did say she should be waking up soon since her fever finally went down last night, but it's been awhile now." Another male voice could be heard saying responding to the first male's question. Unlike the first one, this voice was more relaxed.

"Hmm, I wondered what happened to her though. Your mom said she looked really bad when she found her." The first voice mumbled worriedly.

"I know, but at least she looks better now. We should ask her what happened to her once she wakes up." The second voice suggested.

"Then we can have a welcoming party for her after that!" The first voice called out with excitement.

"Hau!" The second voice called out.

And that was what cut the final string that had held the dark-haired girl in utter darkness. Slowly she opened her eyes, letting out a soft groan in the process at the blinding light. She shifted, straining to turn her body to the side because of how stiff it had become.

"Look!" The first male voice could be heard saying loudly causing her to flinch. "She's awake!"

"Go get my mom, Hau. She told us to get her when she's awake." The second voice said calmly.

"Okay!" The first voice said cheerfully followed by loud footsteps that soon disappeared.

The dark-haired girl slowly moved her head, taking in all of her surroundings. She was on a yellow bed, with a soft pillow under her head and a warm blanket covering her. By her, sitting on a chair, was a boy staring at her with warm dark gray-blue eyes. He had light dark blue hair and was wearing a plain white and blue striped t-shirt and gray capris with red on them. She couldn't help, but shrink back under his intense gaze. It was different than the gazes she had previously received, so she was not quite sure how to react to it.

So instead, she tried to push herself into a sitting position. The boy noticed this and got off the chair hastily going to the dark-haired girl's side. "Wait! Don't push yourself! You just got up!"

The girl stopped moving flinching at the boy's voice. After a failed attempt to move her arm, the dark-haired girl opted to just continued laying down and look around at all her surroundings, while her memories of the previous events of her escape with the blond-haired girl began to rush back into her mind. It was at that point did she realized that she was no longer wearing the white simple clothes she had been previously wearing, but instead was wearing simple pink pajamas.

"Are you okay?" She heard the dark-haired boy asked to her with concern. She found herself looking over to him gazing in at his dark-gray eyes. Even though she was afraid, she started to realize there was kindness that could be seen in those eyes, the same kind of kindness that could be found in the blonde-haired girl that had saved her.

"Sun! I'm back with your mom!" called out a familiar male voice.

Both of the two teens turned away from each other towards the door. The dark-haired girl watched as a dark skinned boy walked in with a large smile. He had brown hair pulled up and wore a black shirt and yellow shorts that had orange and white floral patterns on them. Behind him was a brown-haired woman gazing worriedly at her with warm brown eyes. She wore a white shirt along with a yellow skirt that had white floral patterns on it. Without haste, the woman walked towards her and kneeled down next to the bed smiling kindly at her. The dark-haired girl found herself staring at the woman's eyes. Like the dark-haired boy, her eyes also reflected kindness. She couldn't understand why though.

"Are you okay sweetie?" the woman asked, bringing her hand to the girl's forehead. Upon contact, the dark-haired girl flinched, which the woman took note of. Choosing to not question the young girl about this, she instead took off her hand off the girl's forehead. She was happy that the girl no longer had a fever and took a cup that had water in it off the table, which had not been noticed earlier by the dark-haired girl.

"Here sweetie. You should drink this." The woman said offering the cup of water to the girl. "Sun, dear, can you me sit her up?" The woman called out to the dark-haired boy who only nodded in response.

The dark-haired girl stiffened as the boy, whom was called Sun, walked towards her and placed his hand on her back, carefully guiding her in a sitting position. Her muscles ached at the movement, but she found comfort in it and decided to to allow Sun to help her. Once she was in a sitting position, the woman gave the glass of water to her, which the girl immediately chugged down in one gulp. She erupted into coughs upon drinking the water and found herself being patted on the back gently by the woman. When she was finished with her coughing fit, the dark-haired girl awkwardly gave the now empty cup back to the woman timidly, which the woman took smiling. The girl no longer was thirsty. The water quelled the tight dryness in her throat and made herself feel much more energized.

"I will get you more water to drink, but can you answer some questions I have first?" The woman said placing the empty cup back on the desk.

"Yeah, like why were you unconscious near here?!" Hau called out with an intense curious look.

"Hau!" Sun said looking back at Hau with a glare. "We don't know if asking that is okay right now."

"Oh yeah. Sorry." Hau apologized with a chuckle. The dark-haired girl was beginning to realize that she did not like this dark-tanned boy.

"Can you tell me your name sweetie?" The woman asked kindly waiting patiently for the girl to reply. What she did not expect was for the girl to widen her eyes in fear and begin to shake upon hearing her question. As she shook, her thoughts went back to that name. She did not want to remember that name, the one SHE had given to her. It was painful to remember.

"Sweetie! Look at me!" The girl heard a kind voice say distantly. She stopped shaking and found herself looking at the woman who was gazing at her with worried eyes. "You are safe here, dear." She said softly. "So don't be afraid."

The girl nodded slowly and ceased her shaking. The woman brown eyes were beautiful. Unlike HER eyes, they reflected a motherly kindness that made her heart warm. It was beautiful.

"Do you not like your name?" The woman asked hesitantly understanding that what she asked made the girl afraid. She feared that the girl would not answer her.

But to her surprise, the girl did with a nod. Seeing this made the woman smiled smiled. She was glad that at least the girl was responding to her questions. It showed that she knew how to communicate even if it wasn't by words yet.

"Then would it be okay if I give you a new name? One that will make you not afraid?" The woman asked. The girl, with hesitance, nodded slowly. She would like that, not to be called that other name.

"Hmm... Now let's see... what should we call you." The woman mumbled softly to herself.

"How about 'Moon'!" Hau offered excitedly. "You often say that name a lot!"

"Hau!" Sun hissed. He looked back up at his mother looking to see if she would break down into tears at any moment now only to see her smiling softly at the mention of the name.

"Mom?" Sun asked hesitantly. "A-are you sure? It's her name..."

"Which is all the more reason why I think I should let her name be used..." The woman replied not looking at Sun. She placed her hand on the girl's hand gently and stared directly at the girl's eyes, which the girl stared directly back at with no longer any hint of fear.

"Is that okay with you sweetie? Would you like to be called 'Moon'?" The woman asked softly.

The girl blinked and quietly went over the sound of the name inside her head. It sounded familiar, but she had no idea why. It sounded different compared to the other name, and held so many warm meanings she could not possibly understand. But there was one thing she did understood. The name was meaningful to the woman and Sun, which was why she nodded to the woman that she would like to be called 'Moon'."

"It's nice to see that you are finally awake Moon." The woman said softly. "My name is Nashima Amagawa, but please just call me Nashima. My son," she said pointing to Sun. "Was the one who found you unconscious on the path near here three days ago. You were dehydrated and were running a high fever. I was afraid it would turn into something worse..." she mumbled softly.

"I'm Hau!" The energetic boy piped in with excitement getting closer to Moon. "And I'm Sun's best buddy!" He said pointing at Sun, whom looked slightly annoyed at how loud Hau was being. "The bed you are currently using is actually Sun's."

Nashima chuckled at Hau's energetic attitude. She turned back to Moon with a smile. "Would you like something to eat sweetie? You must be famished after so many days of nothing to eat."

Moon blinked and nodded. She was hungry. The dull aching pain in her stomach was making it hard to just continue sitting up. It was clenching her insides and squeezing it, as if it was telling her to put something inside her. It was definitely something new to her. After spending so much time in that dark place, she never once had to experience these kinds of pain. She was in awe of it.

Nashima took her hand off of Moon's hand and got off the floor. She turned towards Sun and Hau and opened her mouth to speak.

"Sun, Hau, can you watch over our guest? I will be back with some food in about ten minutes."

"Yes, mom." Sun answered.

"Will do, Ma'm!" Hau answered also.

Nashima chuckled and left the room. Once she had left, Moon found herself being bombarded by Hau with questions.

"Why were you afraid? Why were you unconscious? Why were you wearing those clothes? Why were-"

"Hau!" Sun cut in with annoyance. "She just woke up. We should give her some space."

"Oh yeah. Sorry." Hau said sheepishly. He took a few steps forwards to Moon and kneeled on the floor to her level. "How about this? Can you talk?"

Moon blinked at Hau's question and looked back at Sun wondering if he was going to cut in again. To her surprise, he didn't. He only looked at Moon with the same curious gaze Hau was giving to her. He wanted to know too, what Hau was asking.

With hesitance, Moon nodded at Hau's question. She could talk. It had been awhile since she had last spoke, but she could. SHE made her talk to THEM. It was why she tried to force herself to stay quiet most of the time. It made it less unbearable for her. If she had talked, more pain would have been inflicted on her. In a way, not talking helped her deal with the trauma she was going through.

"Then can you speak to us?" Hau hesitantly asked.

Moon glanced down, pulling the blanket closer to her body. Both Hau and Sun took this as a sign that she was still afraid of them. Since she was still afraid, chances were she would still not speak to them. They both sighed, lost what to do next to make Moon more comfortable with them.

 _Ding-dong!_

Both of the boys smiled at the sound that could be heard, while Moon flinched at it. They quickly realized that Moon was afraid of it and began to explain what the sound was. Once they had been sure she had understood them, Hau left to get the person who had rung the doorbell. Minutes later, he came back with a young man behind him. He wore gray shorts with small traces of black and green on them, green shoes with white underneath them, a white hat, green glasses, and a white lab coat. Moon felt herself shake as soon as she saw the mysterious man whom had walked in. She did not trust people who wore lab coats anymore.

Sun seemed to notice Moon's fear of the man and walked towards her taking her hand into his gently.

"Don't be scared," he said softly. "This is Professor Kukui. He is a friend. Trust me. He won't hurt you."

Moon, with hesitance, nodded and looked back at the man who was smiling warmly at her. He took a step forward and greeted Moon.

"Hey there! I'm glad to see you are finally awake. You had us in quite of a bit of a scare when you were found, you know."

Moon slowly nodded surprised at the man's way of talking. She had expected the man in the lab coat to be cold and serious, but he was just as energetic as Hau. It was confusing and yet oddly satisfying that he wasn't what she had expected him to be like.

"Hey now, why don't you come to the next town over when you feel better." Kukui offered with a smile. "Sun and Hau can also join you."

"Sure, but why Professor?" Sun asked.

"I have a gift for you and Hau as well as for our guest."

"Wait! Do you mean you are finally going to give us what I think you are giving us!?" Hau asked with excitement twinkling in his eyes.

Kukui chuckled and winked. "It just might be. I'll be heading back. Come to Iki Town when you are ready, yeah."

He turned and walked out of the room leave the three alone yet again. Once he left the room, Hau immediately bursted in cheers and laughter. Moon could not help, but cover her ears at his excitement. He was painfully loud.

"We are finally going to get them Sun!" He said turning back at Sun and Moon with a wide smile. "We are finally going to get our Pokémon!"

Moon tilted her head to the side at the mention of the name, Pokémon. It was familiar. She understood it meant something important, but had no idea why.

As Moon tried to think over this, she failed to see Nashima walking back in with a tray of food and a glass of orange liquid. Moon felt her mouth water as soon as the succulent aroma that was coming from the tray of food hit her nose. She decided to cast her thoughts away as the tray of food got closer to her. Her thoughts could wait. It was finally time for her to eat and quell the aching pain called hunger that had clenched her insides for far too long.

* * *

 **Edited on 06/12/17**


	2. The Guardian Deity

**A/N:** I'm back with another chapter. I'm sick, but I'm still willing to write. Thanks so much to Subject666 for offering to be a beta reader for this story. You have no idea how grateful I am that you're taking the time to catch my grammatical errors and typos. As for all my readers, thank you for the kind response I got from the first chapter. It made my day right before I graduated reading those responses. And now time for some reviews.

 **FoxOnThePie:** Haha, sorry no spoilers. You'll find out soon enough about Moon's connection with the Aether Foundation. And I couldn't forget about Sun. He is the male protagonist after all. Oh and I wasn't planning to include romance in this story (I'm bad at writing it), but it might change if there are continuous asks for it in the future.

 **Subject666:** Shh no spoilers. Hehe~

* * *

 **Ch. 2: The Guardian Deity**

When she had finished eating, Nashima had immediately sent the boys out of the room and quickly, but gently brushed Moon's untamed hair. After making sure her hair was brushed thoroughly, she helped Moon out of her pajamas. She didn't question why Moon was wearing the white clothes she had been wearing before she was found like Hau how did, and instead helped Moon into new ones. It was embarrassing, to say the least. While Moon didn't remember ever changing out of clothes before, she didn't like the feeling of changing out of them and how naked it made her body feel. It was uncomfortable.

Eventually, Moon was fully changed and was allowed to look at a mirror Nashima had brought with her, so Moon could see fully what she was wearing. She was now wearing a tan top that had pink and yellow flowers decorating all over it and turquoise shorts. She was also wearing red-pink and black shoes that had yellow laces tied together to make a cute bow on each of them as well as an odd red-pink hat with an odd white symbol on it. Moon stared at her new appearance in awe. She never knew she had looked like the person she was currently looking at in the mirror. It was weird and yet, she couldn't take her eyes off of herself. She wanted to memorize every detail she could see in the mirror about herself. It helped washed away the uneasiness that had came when she was changing.

"Do you like it, dear?" Moon heard Nashima say.

Moon looked up from the mirror and nodded with a small smile.

Even though Moon's smile was small, Nashima could not help but smile at finally seeing Moon smile. "I'm glad to see you like it," she said. "My neighbor gave me these clothes when I asked if I could have some for you. She was happy to help."

Nashima turned and walked towards Sun's desk and grabbed a small bag that had been placed on top of it. She opened it up and placed some items in it, one of which Moon instantly recognized as a small first aid kit like the larger one Nashima had brought with her when she brought the food. Nashima continued to place things into the bag, while Moon watched from the side quietly. Once Nashima had finally made sure everything Moon would need was in the bag, she handed the bag for Moon to take.

With uncertainty, Moon took the bag from Nashima. Understanding that Moon did not know what to do with the bag, Nashima helped her put it on over her shoulder. Once she had made sure that Moon knew what she had placed in the bag for her, Nashima led Moon out of Sun's room. She brought Moon into a much larger room room filled with many furniture and decor. Moon could not help but stare at all the furniture with wonder. It brought warmth to her heart chasing away all the uneasiness that had snuck in. It made her feel wanted and welcomed, something she had been afraid to feel for a long time.

"Wow! You look really nice, Moon!" A familiar voice called out from the side of the room that unmistakably belonged to Hau. Moon looked towards the direction of the voice and found both Sun and Hau leaning on a counter in a small kitchen area looking at her with amazement noticeable in their gaze. Moon felt her body shiver at their staring. While the way they looked at her was filled with so much kindness, she did not like being the center of attention of their gaze.

"Sun, Hau, don't you think it's time you lead Moon here to Iki Town?" Nashima suggested, smiling.

Shocked out of their stupor, both of the boys incoherently said a few words and bumped into each other before their faces turned bright red. They walked out of the kitchen area, embarrassed about their actions and mumbled a small apology to Nashima.

Nashima, the ever kind mother she was, accepted their apologies and told them to watch over Moon. While she no longer had a fever and looked better, she could relapse if not taken care of. After giving them that warning, she then sent the three off with a blessing that they would have fun.

When the three stepped out of the house, Hau immediately took Moon's hand into his and began to guide her away from the house to a dirt path with Sun not too far behind them. As he led her on the path, Moon found herself staring at the world around her. The ground was littered with many different kinds of vegetation from palm trees to bushes that had colorful flowers growing from them. The sky was a magnificent shade of blue that had a bright yellow ball of light displayed on it. Moon stared at this ball of light in wonder, but quickly had to look away. It hurt her eyes to stare at it longer than a second.

As Moon continued to gather in all her surroundings soaking everything in like a sponge, she did not noticed that Hau had stopped walking. She felt herself bumping into him as a result, but a warm hand from behind her helped her gained back her balance.

"Whoa, are you okay Moon? You seem out of it." Moon heard Hau say behind her as she looked at her savior, who just happened to be Sun. She shyly nodded at him in gratitude for his help, which Sun seemed to understand.

"You've never been here before, have you?" Sun asked slowly.

Moon nodded in response to his question. She had never seen anything like the world she was currently seeing beyond the dark place she had been confined in. In the darkness, she remembered she could not see anything nor even touch anything. The only thing she could do was hear voices, but those voices always made her afraid. Especially HERS. She always ordered the people who gave her injections to inflict more pain on her. It was suppose to help her connection with the ones SHE wanted Moon to communicate with. But to Moon, it was a never ending nightmare. But now, she was free. Even now, it still felt weird to Moon being out of the darkness and being in a world full of light and color, when all she could ever remember was being in a solitary world that was only pitch dark. It truly made her heart wrench at seeing a world she never knew was out there.

Noticing that Moon was thinking hard about something, Sun took her hand into his, surprising her, and began to walk her over to a fence that had been a few feet away. Once they had stopped in front of it, Moon felt her body froze at the scenery that laid in front of her.

Below her was a vast amount of blue that seemed to go on endlessly. It crept towards the sandy shore brushing each stone with a gentle caress before running away, only to repeat the process in a cycle that sounded so soft that it almost seemed ethereal to watch. The way the sun shone off the rippling water, warping the blue into rich, warm colors, made it almost impossible for Moon to describe its majestic beauty. She truly was in awe of the ocean that was in front of it. It was breathtaking.

"So what do you think? The view here of the ocean is fantastic, don't you think?" Moon heard Hau ask. She nodded her head to his question, not taking the time to take her eyes off the scenery. She was too absorbed in it to care. All she wanted was to continue looking at what Hau called the ocean and continue hearing the gentle sounds it made. It was simply too beautiful to ignore.

After what seemed like hours to Moon, Hau and Sun pulled her away from the scenery to continue their way to Iki Town. While she was sad that she couldn't continue looking at the ocean, she was happy that Sun and Hau gave her that time to enjoy it. While they didn't understand a lot about her, they did understand that she was new to quite a few things. It made her happy that they were taking the time to allow her to learn these new things.

Eventually, the three found themselves in front of a small wooden gate that led to an area surrounded by wooden buildings. As the three walked closer to the area, Moon soon realized that it was a wooden podium that was decorated with odd lines. Standing near the podium was a man wearing a white lab coat with his back towards them. When he turned around, she recognized that it was Professor Kukui. And he looked uneasy unlike the first time she had saw him.

"Hey there!" Kukui said, his worry quickly diminishing for a second as the three teens stopped in front of him. "Welcome to Iki Town young miss! This town is where folks come to worship the Pokémon that watches over Melemele Island. Tapu Koko keeps us all safe and happy here, see!"

Kukui frowned again looking around. The three teens saw this instantly. Hau took it upon himself to ask Kukui what was wrong.

"What's wrong,Professor?" he asked.

Kukui stopped looking around and turned towards Hau with a small smile. "You see. We were supposed to meet the Island Kahuna here."

"Island Kahuna? You mean Gramps, right?" Hau asked.

Kukui chuckled and nodded. He started to rub the back of his head with his hand in an absent-minded way. "Hala wanted to be the one to give you three your pokémon, but as you can see, he is still not here yet."

"Then we can go look for him!" Hau exclaimed excitedly. "I bet Gramps is on Mahalo Trail! He goes there often! We'll be back Professor!"

"Hey now, wait-" Kukui started to say, but it was too late. Hau grabbed both Sun and Moon's hand and led them in a flash towards where the ruins were located. He sighed to himself with a smile once he no longer could see their silhouettes. Although he would rather have the kids stay and wait with him for the Island Kahuna, he was sure they would be fine. After all, the Guardian Deity of Melemele Island would be watching over them.

* * *

"Hau, I doubt that your grandfather is here," Sun said with a little bit of irritation.

Hau, being the type of energetic boy he was, was completely oblivious to the irritation noted in Sun's voice. "Nah. Even if he isn't, wouldn't it be cool if we got to see Tapu Koko!?" Hau said, looking back with his eyes twinkling in excitement.

Sun sighed at this and looked back at Moon with a sincere look. "Sorry, you got dragged into this, Moon. Hau means well, but sometimes his antics can get out of hand."

Moon only gave a small smiled back at Sun. When she had first met Hau, she admitted that she did not like his energetic personality. But after spending the last hour with him, she had to admit he was a nice person. His personality compelled him to make others smile. And while he did not see this yet, she was sure he would see that in time.

"Come on you two! The bridge is over here!" Both Moon and Sun could hear Hau say as he turned around a corner up a flight of stairs. They both took a step forward to follow him, but a shout full of pain stopped them. They both instantly recognized who made that sound of pain. It was Hau.

"Hau!" Sun yelled. He grabbed ahold of Moon's hand to make sure she wouldn't be left behind and dashed forward to where Hau's voice came from. They turned around a corner and found Hau kneeling on a ground holding a hand to his cheek, while his eyes were squinted in pain. Standing in front of Hau a few feet away from him were three odd dressed people, one female and two males. They wore black bandanas with a skull motif in punk attire and a chain necklace with a silver S on it. They also wore white shoes and black tank tops with a cross in the front. Standing in front of the three odd people on four legs stood a Salandit. While Moon did not recognize what the creature that resembled a salamander was, Sun did. He glared at the pokémon and individuals, while moving forward to Hau to make sure he was okay.

"Aww look, another kid. Didn't you three know that this here is our turf now?" the female said. Even though her mouth was covered, Moon had to guess she was smirking.

"What turf? This place does not belong to you!" Moon heard Hau say with pain noticeable in his voice. She turned towards him seeing that he was no longer closing his eyes in pain and was now standing up. He glared at the three individuals in front of them as he continued speaking.

"This place belongs to Tapu Koko!"

"Oh really?" one of the males said, chuckling. "Saladit, go and show im what Team Skull thinks of that!"

The black salamander like pokemon jumped up and with its tail, hit Hau hard on his stomach sending him back to Sun. Sun caught him and helped him to the ground, while glaring back at the odd dressed people. They were laughing now at the silent Hau, whom was curled up and grimacing in pain.

"Stop it!" Sun said with anger. "Hau did nothing to you three!"

"Ya think we care? He should have just shut his mouth when we told him to leave. In fact, let's teach ya a lesson as well! Saladit!" The same male commanded narrowing his eyes at Sun.

Moon watched frozen as Saladit jumped up and prepared to hit Sun with its tail, who curled himself around Hau to protect him from the force of the attack. As she watched, she felt her heart thump faster against her chest. She was afraid. She was afraid of the people that stood before her and the others. She was afraid of the pokémon that was now about to hit Sun with its tail. But most of all, she was afraid of her friends getting hurt.

She did not know why her body suddenly moved at that thought. But it did. And when it did, Moon found herself in front of Sun and Hau arms outstretched ready to take the brunt of the hit from the pokémon's attack. She barely heard Sun telling her to move out of the way. She barely heard one of the grunts telling the pokémon to use dragon rage, because of her courage. She barely felt the ball of raw, purple energy hitting her and pushing her to the side of the cliff they were standing on. She barely felt her body fall towards the rushing waters that was below her as she heard Sun and Hau scream her name.

No, all she was focused on was the thumping in her chest and the fear that was tightening around her heart. Moon wanted to understand if this was how the blonde-hair must have felt when she placed herself in front of her and the people that were after them. She wished she could ask if feeling this fear was alright to have. But she couldn't, of course. She realized that she probably would never get that chance by how badly Sun and Hau screamed for her name.

But before Moon could accept this, she felt something grab onto her body and carry her back up to the cliff. She vaguely heard the people called Team Skull panic and leave as she was gently placed on the ground by her savior. When she finally regained her bearings, Moon found herself staring a magnificent yellow and orange pokémon. It's head and torso were black with white markings on its chest, just above its eyes, and on top of its head. Extending from it head was a large, orange plume with bristles along its black, with yellow markings covering the top bristle. The lower half of its body had four pointed projections, while its arms had round, yellow structures encircling it shoulders. On each of those arms was a shell that appeared to be half of a bird mask. What strike most of the pokémon's appearance to Moon was its eyes. They were small and blue, with yellow markings behind them, but they stared at Moon as if they were looking deep into her soul. Even if she wanted to, Moon found herself being unable to look away from those eyes. They kept her rooted in spot.

But just as quickly as the pokémon had saved her, it let out a mighty caw and flew away up to the sky, leaving no trace of it behind. Realizing that those blue eyes were no longer on her, Moon exhaled slowly. She did not noticed that she had been holding her breath in the whole time.

"Moon! Are you okay?!" Moon heard a familiar voice called behind her. She turned to see Sun walking towards her, while allowing Hau to lean on him for support. Hau was still grimacing in pain and his right cheek had a small cut on it that was bleeding slightly. But she could tell he was not paying attention to his pain. Like Sun, he was giving her an expression of worry.

"Whoa... I can't believe Tapu Koko came to save you Moon..." Hau said slowly taking deep breaths in to help with his pain before continuing. "Gramps always use to tell me that Tapu Koko rarely comes out..."

"You're not hurt though, are you?" Sun asked cutting in with worry noticeable in his voice.

Moon shook her head at Sun's question. Seeing this, Sun sighed in relief. But his relief was soon replaced with the feeling of anger. "What were you thinking?! You could have been seriously hurt if Tapu Koko hadn't come to save you?! And you," Sun said turning towards Hau. "You were being too reckless again! What will the Professor say when he sees us come with you looking like that?!"

"Ah, lay off Sun. We're all fine and that's what matters. Besides," Hau said turning towards Moon, who was looking down at the ground now. "You're scaring Moon."

Sun blinked and looked back at Moon now noticing that she was indeed scared. He sighed and gave a small smile at Moon. "I'm sorry Moon. I get a little shaken up when my friends get hurt. I just hate it that I wasn't able to do anything for you guys..." he murmured quietly mostly to himself.

Moon heard this though and looked up from the ground. She walked over to Sun and placed her hand onto his, raising it a bit. Sun blinked at this gesture and found himself gazing at Moon's eyes unsure what she was trying to tell him. What he did not expect for her to do was open her mouth and speak.

"T-thank you..." she said in a hoarse voice. She released his hand and stared back at the boys with uncertainty, unsure now of what they thought of her now that she had spoke to them. She spoke because she trusted them. They had worried about her and gave her confidence in herself just like how that blonde-hair girl had done. She wanted them to know how she felt about them, and felt that maybe speaking to them would be the best way.

"You-" Hau started to say in shock. He then burst into laughs before stopping and hissing in pain.

"Sorry," he said looking back at Moon with a smile. "But I'm glad that you're finally speaking to us."

Sun nodded smiling fondly. "Yeah... thank you, Moon. Now let's go before Hau here passes out from the pain."

"Hey! I'm right here you know!"

Sun chuckled, playfully rolling his eyes. "I know. That's why I'm saying it." He turned and began to help Hau down the flight of stairs. Moon took a step to follow them, but stopped upon seeing something shiny laying on the ground where Tapu Koko had been. She walked over towards it, kneeled down, and picked it up looking over it with curiosity. It was stone with distinct patterns on it. Somehow, it made her hand feel warm.

"Moon, are you coming?" Moon heard Hau call in the distance down the trail. Upon hearing his voice, she placed the sparkling stone in her bag and ran towards where Hau and Sun were. Even though she had just met the two an hour ago, she was happy that she did. While Hau was too energetic for his own good and Sun overprotective, they both were generally good people. They both made her feel less afraid and unsure of herself, something that she had thought only the blonde-hair girl could do for. It was for that reason why Moon picked up her pace. She wanted to spend time with them. She wanted to learn more from them. She wanted to simply be there with them, her friends. Because as odd as it might be, she was afraid she would never get that chance again.

* * *

 **A/N:** Hope you guys enjoyed! Next chapter, the starter pokémon will finally be presented. Now who will get what has already been decided. Have fun guessing though until the next update!


	3. Choosing a Partner

**A/N:** Hello everyone. I'm back. I apologize for taking a short break, but I just became so busy with my summer that I had no time to sit and write. I kind of do now, but hopefully it'll stay like that before I head off to college in the next few weeks. Now time for some reviews.

 **HarmonyMew:** Thank you! I hope you still look forward to more despite my short hiatus.

 **Guest:** Lillie will show up eventually. Right now though, her location is a mystery. And that's actually what I have been doing. It helps me actually see what goes on in the games instead of reading about it.

* * *

 **Ch. 3: Choosing a Partner**

When Moon and the others arrived back to Iki Town, they immediately went over to where they had last saw Professor Kukui. They found him standing by the wooden stage now accompanied by a tan older man. Despite looking stocky, the tan older man had a colorful appearance. The most interesting detail about the older man that Moon saw was that his white hair was pulled in the exact same style of ponytail like Hau's.

Upon seeing Hau, who was being supported by Sun, the older man immediately rushed over to Hau and helped Sun place him down on the ground. As the older man looked over Hau's injuries, Sun explained to bot

h him and Professor Kukui about what happened to them. Moon watched as the two older men listened intensively, both widening their eyes when Sun got to the part about Team Skull attacking them and again when Sun got to the part about Tapu Koko saving Moon. Just as Sun finished his explanation, the older man, who had just finished wrapping a bandage around Hau's abdomen, chuckled.

"Although it is said to protect us, the truth is that Tapu Koko is a rather fickle creature. Yet," the older man said looking up at Moon with a smile. "Our guardian was moved to save you."

The older man stood up and turned towards Kukui and laughed. "Kukui, my boy! It seems we have a cause to celebrate! It seems like I should entrust this brave and kind young girl with a Pokémon of her own along with these two young boys. I imagine that this young girl will make a fine trainer as well!"

Moon felt her heart quickened at those words. She did quite understand what the man meant by her being a fine trainer, but she knew it was important. It felt important to her.

As she thought over this, Moon did not see the older man stepping forward towards her. He stopped in front of her and extended his hand out towards her with a warm smile.

"I'm glad to meet you, child. I am Hala, the Kahuna of Melemele Island."

Moon stared timidity at Hala's hand not understanding what he was doing. Sun seemed to notice this and walked over to Moon and took her right hand into his.

"It's alright, Moon." He said as he brought her hand over to Hala's hand. "This is called a handshake. It's a type of greeting."

Moon nodded slowly to Sun's explanation as her hand made contact with Hala's hand. She felt Hala shake her hand for a few seconds until her hand was released from his soft grip. When it was, she looked up to see Hala staring at her closely as if he was observing her.

"Moon... is that your name, child?" He asked.

Moon hesitantly nodded not knowing what else to say. She was struck how Hala's behavior had suddenly changed from heartiness to seriousness. She did not know how to make out of it. And yet, despite that, his voice was warm and kind. He could be trusted.

"Tutu?" Hau questioned as he stood up, wincing in pain.

Hala looked back and gave a small smile at Hau before returning his gaze back at Moon. "Professor Kukui told me about you, Moon. While it is indeed interesting of why you appeared unconscious on a trail, I am glad that you are here awake and well. Now..."

Hala stopped speaking and reached into his coat drawing out three pokeballs.

"Come my Pokémon! Let's have a look at you!" He called out, tossing the three pokeballs into the air and releasing three Pokémon onto the stage.

Once the three Pokémon on the stage appeared, Moon noticed Sun stiffened by her right side. As she looked at him taking note of the wonder and excitement in his eyes directed at the Pokémon in front of them, she began to hear movement to her left. She turned to see Hau now standing by her with the same wonder and excitement in his eyes directed at the Pokémon. Sun and Hau were completely infatuated by the three Pokémon.

"First is the Grass-type Pokémon, Rowlet!" Hala explained, gesturing towards the first Pokémon, a small brown and white owl that had a round body and short legs. Upon hearing its name, the Pokémon hooted rather timidly and rotated in a full circle, stopping once it faced the children again.

"Next is the Fire-type Pokémon, Litten! Hala continued gesturing towards the next Pokémon, a red and black cat that was currently curled up on the stage with its eyes closed. Upon being addressed, it stood up and stretched its body, meowing quietly. Once it finished stretching, the Pokémon looked up at the children with a bored expression.

"And last is the Water-type Pokémon, Popplio!" Hala concluded gesturing to the last Pokémon, which was the blue seal-like Pokémon that had a round, pink nose. Once it heard its name, the Pokémon barked cheerfully and leaned forward, clapping its tail fins together making a playful sound.

"So, which Pokémon will each of you choose?" Hala asked the three turning towards them.

Both Hau and Sun turned towards each other and nodded. They both nudged Moon, who was staring at the Pokémon in awe, closer towards the Pokémon. When she felt her body move from the gentle push, Moon turned towards Sun and Hau with confusion only to see them smiling at her.

"Moon, we want you to be the first to pick." Sun explained.

"Yeah! You deserve it!" Hau added cheerfully.

Moon blinked and smiled softly at the two's actions. She did not quite understand why they wanted her to pick a Pokémon, but she understood that it was a moment they wanted her to treasure. After all, they were giving her a chance to pick first.

So with hesitance, Moon stepped closer to the three Pokémon that now had their attention directed towards her. She gazed at each of the Pokémon shyly taking in their appearances once more. Popplio seemed like a jolly Pokémon, judging by how it acted when Hala called it, while Litten seemed too easily bored given how it no longer was paying anymore attention to Moon.

Moon turned her attention away from Popplio and Litten and now looked at the last Pokémon, Rowlet. Unlike the other two, it was more reserved. It was quiet and showed a lack of confidence she could easily distinguish based on the small hoot it gave earlier when Hala addressed it. But beyond that, she saw something else in the small Rowlet. While it showed that it was insecure about itself from its greeting, Moon could easily see there was more to the small owl. It would indefinitely grow. Just as how she needed to.

That was why Moon decided to point at Rowlet as she looked back at Hala. The older man chuckled at Moon's choice and looked over to the two boys. "And who will you two choose?"

Moon watched as Sun and Hau stared at the remaining Pokémon with intense gazes, studying and soaking in everything about them. After what seemed like hour, Sun finally pointed at Litten, while Hau finally pointed at Popplio. They both looked up at Hala signifying that they, too, had made their choice.

"Moon, Sun, and Hau, go up on the stage. It is only when you and the Pokémon have both chosen each other can you truly call each other partners." Hala said addressing towards the three.

The three obeyed and made their way onto the stage. They walked towards the center of the stage and stood silently, gazing at the Pokémon that stood before them with curious gazes.

"Hau, you have decided to choose Popplio. Now we shall see if Popplio truly chooses you." Hala said earnestly as he now stood between the three Pokémon and children.

Hau took a deep breath and kneeled down to the cheerful seal-like Pokémon. The Pokémon tilted its head slightly to its right at Hau's actions. And yet, just as it seemed that it did not understood, the seal-like Pokémon barked happily and wobbly moved towards Hau. Hau laughed as he picked up Popplio raising up, as it continued to bark happily. Popplio had chose him.

Hala smiled and nodded for Hau and Popplio to move back. After they did, he continued speaking. "Now Sun, you have decided to choose Litten. Now we shall see if Litten truly chooses you."

Sun nodded and took a step forward and kneeled down. He placed his hand out for Litten. Litten stared back at the hand with a bored expression and meowed loudly. It stretched its body and then took a few steps forward. Once it was close enough, it stopped and stared back at Sun with its red eyes, studying him closely. After what seemed like hours, Litten meowed quietly and walked forward to Sun's hand, licking it. Sun smiled at this action and petted the black and red cat. Litten had choose him.

Hau chuckled and nodded for Sun and Litten to move back. It was time for the last Pokémon to choose their trainer.

"Now Moon, you have decided to choose Rowlet. Now we shall see if Rowlet truly chooses you."

Moon nodded and took a step forward. She stared at the small owl below her as it did the same to her. Slowly, but shyly, Rowlet moved forward towards her and hooted. Once it was close enough to her leg, it rubbed its face against it gently, cooing softly. Moon wanted to move away from the owl Pokémon in response to the touch, but found herself unable to. Rowlet was warm and soft, things she did not expect. She found herself kneeling down and placing her hand out to touch Rowlet. When her hand made contact with its head, she could not help, but smile. And she soon realized that Rowlet was hooting cheerfully now that she had willingly touched it. Just as how she had chosen it, Rowlet had also chosen her.

"So little Rowlet as accepted you as well." Hala said as he walked onto the stage. He faced the three children and have each of them an earnest smile. "I am glad for you all. If you three can work in harmony with your Pokémon, you can go anywhere together."

"That's right!" Kukui added cheerfully as he walked onto the stage as well. "I'm sure you three and your Pokémon will be friends for life!"

"So, do you each know what you are going to name your new Pokémon?" Kukui asked with a smile.

"I'm going to name Popplio, Azura!" Hau answered happily turning towards Popplio with a bright smile. "Do you like that name, Popplio?"

Popplio nodded and barked jollyfully, snuggling closer to Hau's chest. Hau joined in laughter at Azura's response.

"And what about you, Sun?" Kukui asked turning away from Hau to Sun.

Sun looked down at Litten, who was now laying down curled up by his leg, and shrugged. "Kuro..." he answered. "If that is okay with you..."

Litten raised its head slightly and meowed loudly and laid its head back down. Sun had to guess that it was fine for him to call Litten that name.

"And you, Moon?" Hala asked, looking away from Sun, and now back to Moon.

In response to his question, Moon slightly gazed down at Rowlet. She wasn't sure if she should give Rowlet a name, and yet, she felt it was right to. She, herself, was given a name by Sun, Hau, and Sun's mother. And because of that, she wanted to do the same for Rowlet, so that it would get a chance to treasure it just as much as she treasures her new name.

"Tutu, Moon does not ta-" Hau started to say, but he was interrupted by Moon.

"Mikio..." Moon murmured quietly still staring down at Rowlet, hoping that it would accept is new name just as she had with hers. "That's the name I want to give to you."

Kukui stared at Moon in shock, while Sun and Hau smiled that she was now talking a bit more now. Hala only nodded at her response. At hearing Moon's voice, Rowlet hooted quietly and raised its wings. It began to flap them and flew up to Moon's shoulder and landed on it. Once it was perched on her shoulder, it snuggled its face into Moon's cheeks cooing softly. Moon giggled at the softness of Rowlet's fur on her cheek. Judging by the Pokémon's reaction, she could tell it liked his name.

"Great job you three!" Kukui praised. "Now that you've got a Pokémon, you three are real Pokémon trainers, yeah! And to commemorate, here's a lovely gift from me to help make it special!"

Kukui took a red device out of his lab coat pocket and handed it to Moon. Moon took the device from him and studied it as Sun and Hau inched close to her to see the device as well.

"Professor, is this what I think it is?" Sun asked looking up at Kukui.

"Indeed it is!" Kukui said with a slight chuckle. "That device in Moon's hand is a Pokédex. A Pokédex is a real high-tech kinda tool that can automatically record facts of any Pokémon you meet. Your new partners, Rowlet, Litten, and Popplio, have already been recorded. Since I only have one right now, you three can share it."

"And before I forget!" Kukui said as he dug into his other pocket. He took out three small booklets and handed one out to each of the three children.

"Here is a Trainer Passport for each of you."

Once Moon, Sun, and Hau had their respective Trainer Passports, Kukui spoke once more. "Now that's all have been taken care of, why don't you three head home? I think spending time with your new partners will allow for you each to bond closer together."

"You're right!" Hau agreed acknowledging Kukui's advice. He turned from the Professor and looked over to Moon and Sun with a cheerful smile. "I'll see you guys tomorrow then! Me and Azura have a lot of bonding to do together!"

Sun nodded and looked over to Moon as he picked up the sleeping Litten from the ground. "Let's head home, Moon. My mom wouldn't want us to stay out too late."

Moon nodded and took a step forward to Sun when she felt something heating up in her bag. She stopped, widening her eyes in surprise, and opened her bag. All at once, a bright light began to shine from the bag. Curiously, she dug into her bag to take out the source of the light, which just happened to be the stone she had found earlier. Once she had taken it out, the stone began to glow faintly.

"Moon, would you be so kind to give me a look at the sparkling stone you have in your hand?" Hala asked unexpectedly. Moon nodded to his request and handed the stone over for him to see.

Hau inched closer to Hala and stared down at the sparkling stone, that now was losing its glow after leaving Moon's hand.

"Tutu... isn't that..." Hau began to say, but he stopped only staring at the stone almost as if he was mesmerized by it.

"Moon, where did you get this stone?" Hala asked looking up from the stone with his brows furrowed in thought.

"I found it..." Moon replied quietly struggling to answer the older man's question. "After..." She trailed off looking down.

"After Tapu Koko saved you, right?" Sun asked gazing at Moon with worry.

Moon nodded and smiled at Sun. They both looked back at Hala, who only chuckled at the recent development.

"It seems Tapu Koko deemed to give you this stone. Perhaps Moon, you came here because this is where you are meant to be."

Hala smiled widely and continued. "Allow me to borrow this stone for awhile. Fret not, I'll return it to you the next time we meet. I would also like to ask if you would do us the honor of joining in our festival a few days from now."

Moon tilted her head in confusion at what Hala requested from her. Seeing this, Sun placed a hand on her free shoulder to reassure her. "I'll tell you about it later Moon. For now, let's just go home."

Both Sun and Moon waved goodbye to Hau, Kukui, and Hala and made their way out of Iki Town and back on the trail that led to Sun's house. As they walked, Sun tried to fill the void of silence by talking to Moon and Kuro. He explained more about himself, talking about his likes and dislikes and his hopes and goals. Moon tried her best to listen, but she eventually found her thoughts drifting away back to the blonde-haired girl that had saved her.

She wanted to know if she was safe. She yearned to know if the blond-haired girl was having as much fun as she was having. She hoped that she was well and not in any danger. And Moon desired to see her again. Just so that Moon could thank her for what she did. She needed that more than anything.

"Moon, we're here."

Moon stopped walking and turned away from her thoughts back to the reality she had drifted away from. She found herself now standing in front of Sun's house with Sun standing by her holding Kuro in his arms. He smiled at her as Kuro yawned loudly seemingly tired. Mikio, who was still perched on her shoulder, snuggled closer to her cheek cooing affectionately at her skin. Moon could not help, but smile at this. For now, she would continue forward. After all, the blond-haired girl was right. She didn't have to be afraid. It would be fine. She now had new friends to help her move forward.

* * *

 **A/N:** Thank you for your patience! Since I'm relatively new to the games, I have no idea what Pokémon to give to Moon and the others. Because of that, I would like to ask you, my dear reader, to give me suggestions of who you think should get what Pokémon. Keep in mind I'll be looking into it, but I may based the teams from your suggestions. As always, thank you and look forward to the next chapter!

 **Current Teams:**

Moon: Mikio (Rowlet)

Sun: Kuro (Litten)

Hau: Azura (Popplio)


	4. Pokémon Battles 101

**A** **/N:** I'm back. Not much to say other than I hope you guys enjoy this chapter. I have a lot of things to thank people for, so I'll keep it simple. Thank you to Subject 666 for beta reading this chapter and pointing out my mistakes. And thank you to those, who not only read, but leave a review. You guys rock!

 **Fantasysword92375:** I did not know what you were talking about and had to look it up. It's such a coincidence that this story looks like it has been crossed with it. And you have predictions? I would love to hear them then. I won't spoil much, but I would like to see if you are right with what's going to happen in future chapters.

* * *

 **Ch. 4: Pokémon Battles 101**

 _Darkness._

 _That was all she could see. It wrapped around Moon tightly like a blanket drowning all light and emotion away. She could not move against the pressure of the deep pitch black. It kept her still, as if it was suffocating her._

 _"C... you imag... it?" A male voice could be heard talking in the distance. Moon strained her ears to listen to the voice, but she found she could barely make out what the voice was saying. It sounded distorted, like the voice was speaking from under water. Despite that, the voice was familiar._

 _"Project UH-01..." the voice continued. "Will lead... to... Ultra..."_

 _The voice stopped and what followed was sharp needles being pierced into Moon's skin. She grimaced as unbearable fiery pain erupted in all over her body. The needles were burning her. Moon moved to dig the needles out, but found herself unable to. Her hands wouldn't respond to her._

 _"Increase to maximum input. I want to see how it will react this time." The same male voice commanded, but this time sounding oddly closer._

 _Realizing this, Moon frantically looked around in the void of darkness searching for the source of the voice, until her gaze stopped onto a face that was slightly visible not too far away in the sea of darkness. Even though part of the face was covered in darkness, she could make out dark green eyes staring down at her coldly. She shook at the way the face looked at her with their visible eye. It terrified her._

 _"Let's begin, UH-01." The face spoke with a cold smile._

 _And all Moon could see was pitch black darkness once more._

* * *

Moon eyes snapped open and she shot up, frantically grabbing onto the blanket that was wrapped around her. She squeezed it tightly in absolute fear and looked around in panic expecting to see the same face that had looked at her so coldly. Instead, she found that she was in the guest bedroom Nashima had set up for her, on her bed, with Mikio on the windowsill near her silently staring at her.

Realizing that she was safe and was not in the place she dreamt about, Moon released her grip off of the blanket hand and glanced down, slightly embarrassed. She placed her hand on Mikio's head and began to rub his head softly.

"I'm sorry," she apologized. Mikio cooed at her touch and she couldn't help but smile at that. Mikio seemed to love it when he was stroked by Moon.

After stroking Mikio's feathers for several more seconds, Moon decided it would be best to get ready. She stopped stroking Mikio's feathers and got off the bed. She stretched out her limbs and then began to change out of her pajamas. As she changed into new clothes, her thoughts began to drift back to the conversation she had with Sun about the Festival several days earlier after they had came back to his house.

From Sun, she learned that the Full Force Festival was held every year in Iki Town in honor of Tapu Koko. The town would express their thanks to their guardian by competing in friendly Pokémon battles. When she asked what exactly what Pokémon battles were, Sun told Moon that he would teach her the basics. If she was going to participate in the Full Force Festival, he explained to her that she needed to learn what it meant to fight among Pokémon in a battle.

Of course, learning the basics was not easy. Suffice to say, Moon had trouble in Pokémon battles 101 (as dubbed by Hau). She couldn't call out the correct moves for Mikio to use against the opponent's Pokémon and whenever she did, the opponent's Pokémon always seemed to have the advantage over Mikio. It was tough. She had learned from Sun what battling exactly was and yet, it was hard for her to grasp. It was frustrating. And given how the Full Force Festival was two days away, she had no idea what to do to become better. After all, Hala had asked for her to participate in the festival.

"Hoot!"

Moon snapped out her thoughts and turned to see Mikio flying towards her. She smiled as the small owl Pokémon landed on her shoulder and snuggled its head towards her cheek. He loved doing that.

Despite not being able to excel in Pokémon battles, Moon had no trouble in excelling in bonding with her Rowlet. Even though she had caused Mikio to fail in each battle she had with Hau and Sun, Mikio always tried to cheer her up. He liked to do this by rubbing his face into her cheek and staying perched on her shoulder. Since that day after receiving Mikio, Moon learned that she may have been bad at Pokémon battles, but she was indeed learning how to appropriately bond with her Pokémon. And that was important.

"Moon? Are you awake, sweetie?" Moon head a voice call out from the other side of the door that was shut. Moon turned and walked towards the door. She opened the door, revealing it to be Sun's mom, Nashima, who had called out to her.

Upon seeing Moon, Nashima smiled. "I'm glad that you are awake, dear. Did you have a good sleep?"

Moon opened her mouth to say no, remembering the dream she had of the cold green eyes, but decided not to talk about it. She couldn't tell Nashima what she had seen when she herself, didn't understand what her dream meant. So instead, she closed her mouth and nodded her head, implying that she had a good sleep.

"That is good," Nashima responded. "I just wanted you to know that breakfast is ready. Please come out to eat when you are finished getting ready."

Moon nodded and Nashima turned, leaving Moon alone in the room. Moon sighed and looked at Mikio and began to pet him as she thought quietly to herself. She had gotten used to staying with Sun and Nashima. At first, she had felt uneasy staying with them, but their kindness chased her worries away. Ever since she had woken up, both of them were helping her learn new things. While Nashima was helping her learn more about how to take care of herself, Sun was helping her learn more about Pokémon. Moon was grateful that they allowed her to stay. Like the blond-haired girl, she was truly glad she had met them.

"Hoot!"

Moon stopped petting Mikio and sighed once more. Even though there was much to think about, she had to push her thoughts aside. It was time to eat. Mikio was hungry and so was she. Besides, there was a whole day ahead of her learning more about Pokémon battles from Sun and Hau and she needed the energy for that. With that in mind, Moon left the room with Mikio and headed towards the kitchen to start her day.

* * *

"You know, I think you are getting better at this."

Moon looked up pitifully from the ground and at Hau who was smiling cheerfully at her. After breakfast, Sun had took her to the spot they had been training at with Hau for the past few days. For the next few hours, the three had Pokémon battles with each other. Once again, she had another battle with Hau and his Popplio only for her Rowlet to lose miserably. After the battle, Sun had decided that the three should take a break. Moon could tell why he suggested that though. Sun could tell she was frustrated and disappointed in herself. After several days of nonstop Pokémon battles, she should have bound to win at least one. And yet, every battle she had with Sun or Hau ended in her Rowlet losing. While she was happy that Hau was trying his best to cheer her up, it was clear as day she was not making any progress at all.

"I think maybe you should focus on strategizing in your next battle instead of just calling out commands," Sun spoke up by her. Moon turned towards him confused.

"Strategizing?" she asked.

"Yeah, you know, making up a plan." Sun turned towards her and continued. "You've got the basics down from what I've seen, but you're too focused on telling what Mikio to do that you're not focusing on the bigger picture. In a battle, you have to be prepared to make a new plan when something might not go right."

"Wow, I didn't know you knew that kind of stuff, Sun!" Hau said in awe.

Sun shrugged and looked away towards his Litten, Kuro, who was curled up asleep on the ground near him. He spoke once more.

"I'm just thinking about how an experienced trainer would battle with their Pokémon. I would like to become just as strong as them..."

Moon glanced down as she pondered over Sun's words. Now that she thought about it, she was always only telling Mikio what to do in a battle and never payed any attention to the opponent's Pokémon. She was always only focused on her Pokémon. She realized then that Sun was right. She had to focus on the bigger picture, which meant both her and the opponent's Pokémon.

Seeing that Moon was starting to get what he said, Sun smiled.

"So how about it Moon? Want to have a battle with me and Kuro?"

Moon turned towards him and nodded with determination. She called out to Mikio, who was perched on a tree to rest during their short break and waited for him to get on her shoulder. Once he was, she stood up and walked towards the spot Hau had marked in their makeshift battlefield. Sun did the same, only he stopped at a marked spot that was across from her, a few feet away.

"Ready Moon! Kuro, I need you!" Sun called out turning towards Kuro. Kuro growled and lifted his head, giving an annoyed expression at Sun.

"Come on Kuro! I promise this will be the last one for the day," Sun said as he gave a pleading look back at his Pokémon.

Once more, Kuro growled, but he stood up and walked over to Sun. He stopped once he was in front of Sun, and turned to face Moon and Mikio. Moon nodded to Mikio, and Mikio flew off her shoulder. He landed on the ground and hooted. The battle had begun.

"I'll take the first turn, Moon!" Sun called out. He raised his hand and gave his first command to Kuro.

"Kuro, use growl!"

Kuro responded and opened his mouth, releasing a loud growl. Mikio titled his head at the sound and cooed softly. Seeing this, Moon thought back to the things she had discussed with Sun upon learning moves. The move Kuro had used, growl, soothed the opponent's Pokémon and calmed them down. That meant Mikio would attack with less power than what he originally had since he was less riled up for the battle. Despite that, Moon would not let that stop Mikio from trying. She decided she would tell Mikio to use a normal based attack.

"Mikio, use tackle!"

Hearing Moon's command, Mikio flapped his wings and raised himself a few inches off the ground. He then flew straight towards Kuro intending to hit him with his head, only for Sun to call out to Kuro to dodge it.

"Dodge it, Kuro!"

Kuro wasted no time in obeying Sun's command and moved away slightly to the right leaving Mikio to hit the ground with its head instead. Moon stared at the now injured Mikio in a stupor as Sun called the next move for Kuro to make.

"Now use scratch on Mikio!"

Kuro meowed and turned getting ready to scratch Mikio with its claws. Moon watched this, frustrated she still couldn't listen to Sun's advice. She was watching Kuro now, but she had no idea what to do. She was stuck. She did not whether to tell Mikio to dodge it, tell him to use another attack, or take the attack and let it end. She did not plan for this to happen.

 _"In a battle, you have to have be prepared to make a new plan when something might not go right."_

Moon frowned at remembering the words Sun had told her just before the battle. Nothing was going right for her in this battle. But he was right. Regardless, she still had to have a plan to win it. She couldn't give up just yet.

"Mikio! Dodge it!" she called out to her Rowlet.

Mikio shook his head and flapped his wings rapidly allowing him to take off to the sky just in time before Kuro could scratch him. Moon sighed in relief at this and looked back at Kuro. Kuro may had the advantage over Mikio, but Mikio also had the advantage over him. And she was now going to use it.

"Keep flying Mikio, and use growl!" She commanded.

Mikio hooted and let out a soft growl, while staying aloft in the sky. Kuro meowed and relaxed at the sound of Mikio's growl. Moon smiled at this. Now they were even.

"We won't let that stop us!" Sun declared, trying to get Kuro riled up. "Kuro, use ember!"

Kuro shook his head. He arched his back and tiny flames shot out of it. Opening its mouth, the Litten shot out flaming hair balls at Mikio. Moon quickly called out to Mikio to dodge the attacks that he was weak against and gave him another command.

"Use leafage, Mikio!" She told her Pokémon. Mikio listened and pelted Kuro with green leaves. Kuro was hit by the barrage of leaves, but was unaffected by them. The attack barely did any damage to him at all. Despite that, Moon had a plan.

"Continue using leafage, Mikio," she called out. "As you circle him!"

Mikio hooted in response and began to circle Kuro as he continued to pelt Kuro with his attack of green leaves. Kuro hissed in annoyance at getting hit with each attack as he looked back to Sun for his next command. Sun nodded towards him in reassurance and called out the next move for Kuro to make.

"Use ember!"

Once again, Kuro arched its back and shot out a fiery hairball at the attack of leaves that were about to hit him. The fire made contact with the leaves and burned them causing light smoke to appear and surround Kuro. Both Kuro and Sun glanced around as the smoke dissipated realizing one thing: Mikio had disappeared. Sun quickly told Kuro to stay on guard as he looked around for Mikio. He did not expect Moon to give her next command to her Pokémon.

"Now use tackle, Mikio!" She said.

Sun widened his eyes feeling a whoosh of air near him and turned to see the small owl Pokémon jumping out from one of the bushes nearby them and tackling Kuro head on with his body. Kuro had no time to dodge the surprise attack. The cat Pokémon was sent flying by the attack towards the grassy field that was nearby their makeshift field. Sun watched stunned as Kuro landed unmoving. In silence, he walked over towards him and picked him up to check him. Moon watched this in silence, wondering to herself if she had overdone it. Just as she was about to apologize to Sun, Sun erupted in a laugh, surprising her. He turned towards Moon with a cheerful smile.

"That was great, Moon! You really did surprise me there!" He walked towards her and patted her shoulder. "That is how a Pokémon battle should go. Even though Kuro had the type advantage over Mikio, you were able to push him back with tactics."

Moon sighed in relief that Sun was not angry at her and gave him a big smile as Mikio landed back at her shoulder. She placed her hand on his head and began to pet him gently in gratitude.

"I just listened to what you told me earlier," she said, looking back at Sun. "Thank you so much, Sun."

Sun chuckled. "Not a problem, Moon. Now that you got the basics down, I think participating in the Full Force Festival will not be a problem for you."

Moon smiled. "I hope so."

"I wouldn't worry, Moon," Hau spoke up as he walked over towards the two and their Pokémon with Azura wrapped in his arms. "The Full Force Festival is about having a great time battling with your Pokémon. It's not really about winning or losing."

Moon nodded. "But thank you," she murmured softly. "Thank you two for teaching me about Pokémon battles."

Hau smiled cheekily as he chuckled. "Aww it was nothing, Moon. We're happy to help. Right, Sun?"

"Right," Sun answered as he turned over to Moon. "Anyway, we should be getting back. I think that's about enough what our Pokémon can do for today. They need rest. Let's continue tomorrow. After all, the Full Force Festival is in two days. We'll need all the training we can get."

Both Moon and Hau nodded. After saying their goodbyes, both Moon and Sun began to walk back to their house. As they walked, Moon took the time to enjoy all her surroundings. She loved the way the wind tingled her skin and the smell of the blue sea that was nearby. She was so focused on her surroundings that she didn't notice that Sun was speaking to her. When she finally noticed, she apologized to Sun. Sun explained there was no need for her to apologize and continued on what he wanted to talk to her about.

"Actually, I wanted to ask if you know where you came from. I mean if you are comfortable talking about it. Maybe me and Hau can help you get back home."

Moon froze and stopped walking. Sun noticed this and stopped to look back at Moon, concerned. Her smile had disappeared and she now had a tight frown on her face. Her dark eyes were now dilated in fear as her body shook in fright. She was completely different compared to the Moon he had spoke to a minute earlier.

"Moon?" Sun said with worry as he moved towards to her. He placed his hand onto her hand. "Are you okay?"

Moon blinked, snapping out of the daze she had been in. When Sun had asked her his question, she had immediately remember the times she was trapped in the pitch black darkness with the cold dark green eyes staring down at her. HER voice along with a familiar male voice spoke in whispers about her among the darkness. They terrified her. But Sun's contact with her hand had brought her back. She was relieved that it did.

Seeing that Moon was now back to her regular self, Sun sighed in relief and continued speaking.

"Are you okay now?"

Moon shakily nodded and looked away. "I have a home..." she murmured quietly barely enough for Sun to hear. "But I don't want to go back..."

Sun widened his eyes at her answer and placed both of his hands on Moon's shoulders.

"I'm sorry, Moon," he apologized sincerely. "I'm sorry for pushing you to answer me. But you can stay with me and my Mom until then. Mom says you'll always be welcome."

Moon nodded slowly. The atmosphere had certainly turned sullen. And yet despite that, Sun was still trying to cheer her up. She did not know what made her deserve the unwavering kindness he always gave her, but it was always enough to make her have hope. She was truly happy to have a friend like Sun.

"Let's go home, Moon."

Moon smiled softly at those words that came from Sun. She realized now she had a new home. And it was with Sun and his mother. They cared for her and came to accept her after several days. She had wondered at first if their kindness was a lie, but now she knew deep in her heart, they were truly kind like the blond-haired girl she had met. She had thought all people were cold hearted as the ones she remembered seeing and hearing in the place she had escaped from, but she was wrong. Sun, Hau, and the others proved that she was wrong and she was happy she was. Because now, she could finally see the world that was kept locked away from her.

As both Moon and Sun and their Pokémon finally arrived back to the house, Moon found herself looking up towards the mixed orange and red sky, while making a silent wish. She wished to herself that the people she had escaped from would never find her. She didn't want to go back ever again.

* * *

 **A/N:** Aww, poor Moon. Sadly, her wish is not going to come true. Anyhow, next chapter might be slightly delayed. I'm still trying to decide how to go about the battle that will take place during the Festival. Until then, please have patience and send me suggestions for what Pokémon you want either Moon, Sun, or Hau to catch. Don't worry, after the Festival, they'll be starting their journey.

 **Current Teams:**

Moon: Mikio (Rowlet)

Sun: Kuro (Litten)

Hau: Azura (Popplio)


	5. The Ceremonial Battle

**A/N:** I apologize for the slight delay, but I had a tough time writing this chapter. I just could not get it to flow right. Hopefully, I'll be able to finish the sixth chapter by Friday. I have a number of chapters I want to finish before I move to college next week. Anyhow, thank you to Subject 666 for beta reading this chapter and to all my readers! I apologize if these chapters seem like a novelization of the games, but the story will take a different direction really soon.

 **Fantasysword92375:** Okay! And thank you so much for your suggestions! I'll keep your suggestions in mind as I try to decide what Pokémon Moon should catch.

* * *

 **Ch. 5: The Ceremonial Battle**

Moon stared anxiously at the sky taking in all of the rich, warm colors that seemed to accentuate the beautiful setting sun. The only sound audible were the torches that crackled around her. All the inhabitants of the town had grown silent when Hala had walked onto the stage. Moon had tried to pay attention to Hala, but her hazy thoughts had drawn all of her attention towards the sky.

She was nervous. She had never battled in front of a large crowd of people. Even though she wished that Sun would have told her that the whole town would be watching, she doubted that would have made any difference. The fear of messing up was all she could think about now. Moon did not want to think about what everyone in the crowd would think of her if she did perhaps mess up this important battle.

Finding that the sky was not helping her calm down one bit, Moon switched her gaze to Hau, who was standing at the other side of the stage at the steps and not looking nervous at all. He had a large, eager smile as his eyes twinkled with excitement. She wished she could be excited as he was for this battle.

"For all life on our islands..." Moon heard Hala say. She had not noticed that he had been speaking the whole time to the townsfolk that stood all around the stage.

"And for those who undertake the island challenge with joy in their hearts," Hala continued speaking, his voice echoing loud and clear. "We pray for your protection, for them and all of Melemele... May today's Pokémon battle be an offering to our island's guardian deity, Tapu Koko!"

Moon closed her eyes, hoping that would help. She could barely hold in the anxiousness that was pulsating inside of her. Her hands were becoming clammy as she realized she could barely focus. She tried to take deep breaths as her thoughts went back to the conversation she had with Sun and Hau earlier that day.

* * *

 _"Ceremonial battle?" Moon asked with uncertainty._

 _"Yeah!" Hau said with eagerness. "There's a Pokémon battle at the end of every Full Force Festival, done in the honor of Tapu Koko! Gramps chose me and you to participate in the battle tonight!"_

 _Moon stopped chewing on the chocolate covered candy she had been eating and looked at Hau in shock._

 _She and the boys were currently sitting on a bench taking a break, while eating sweets Hau had gotten for them. Since arriving in Iki Town that morning, she and the boys had participated in many of the festival's games and competitions. They had also participated in a few Pokémon battles with the other townsfolk. While Moon had won some, she had also lost some, but she didn't seem to care the more she battled with her Pokémon. The thought that she lost some battles was little in comparison to the sheer amount of fun she was having with Sun and Hau. And yet, the idea of participating in a ceremonial battle done in the honor of Tapu Koko seemed too much for her to take in._

 _"I.. I don't know if I should. I... I mean shouldn't Hala have chosen someone else?" Moon said, after swallowing her food slowly, hoping that maybe Hala had made a mistake and would pick another person._

 _"Tapu Koko saved you, Moon! Gramps had to choose you! Besides, it's just going to be like any other battle we've had, only it's going to be in front of more people than usual." Hau said with excitement, trying his best to reassure her only to find it made Moon's face go even paler._

 _"Hau!" Sun scolded. He sighed and looked back at Moon._

 _"Moon, you're going to be fine. Like Hau said, it's like any normal battle we've had. Just don't try to pay attention to the crowd that will be watching you two."_

 _"B-but what if I'm not ready for this?" She asked hesitantly._

 _Sun smiled and spoke gently: "Trust me, Moon, you are ready."_

* * *

Moon opened her eyes and shook her thoughts away. Despite what Sun said, she did not feel like she was ready for this. In fact, she felt that she still shouldn't have been chosen for this. She still was completely new to the concept of Pokémon battles.

"Before you stands Hau, grandson to the Kahuna." Moon heard Hala say with a trace of pride barely noticeable in his voice. She looked up from the ground to see him gesturing towards Hau as he slowly made his way up the steps. Once Hau reached the stage, he stopped and smiled at Moon as he awaited for her to be introduced onto the stage.

"And before him stands Moon, the one who has met with Tapu Koko."

Hala gestured towards Moon. She took a deep breath, struggling to make peace with her nervousness, and quietly made her way up the steps. Each step she took felt heavy and wobbly as if she was learning how to walk. It felt like years until she finally made her way onto the stage and stopped. Once she did, she immediately felt the full weight of everyone's gazes on her. She tried to ignore these gazes as she began to hear people all around her begin to murmur things about her.

"Who is she? I've never seen her before."

"What?! A child meeting Tapu Koko?"

"What a curious little thing Tapu Koko is! That's just about what we'd expect from it!"

Moon was surprised by these comments as a new sense of fear sprouted inside of her. She was new to the town. The townsfolk did not know her, so of course they were going to talk more about her and the fact she had met Tapu Koko. And yet, just as quickly as this new sense of fear had appeared, it was quickly washed away by two familiar voices she could hear from the crowd.

"Moon! Just take deep breaths and do your best! You got this!"

"Mikio, take care of Moon! You two can do it!"

Moon immediately felt a wave of calmness wash through her at hearing the two voices that yelled out words of encouragement to her. Sun and Nashima must have saw how nervous she was. She was happy that they took action and helped her relax a bit by encouraging her. As long as they were there among the crowd watching, she knew it would be a little easier to battle with her Pokémon without feeling like her heart was going to burst out of her ribcage.

"Moon, are you feeling alright?" Moon heard Hau say once the crowd became silent.

She looked up at him and nodded, smiling a bit.

"I think I'm fine now."

Hau smiled widely and spoke once more with excitement.

"That's the spirit! As long as we both have a good time, then I think we can call this a great battle, eh?"

Moon nodded, agreeing with Hau. As long as she had great friends like Sun and Hau, she would definitely be fine. Sun and Hau believed in her. Now it was time to show everyone in the town what she had learned from her friends.

"Moon! Hau! Bring forth the power of your Pokémon!" Hala declared as he waved his hand down to signal the battle to begin.

Both Moon and Hau took out their Pokéballs and tossed them into the air. Both Pokéballs opened, releasing Moon's and Hau's Pokémon onto the stage.

"I'll go first! Azura, use growl!" Hau yelled out.

His Popplio barked and released a soft growl at Mikio making him shudder.

"Mikio, take to the sky and use tackle!" Moon commanded to her Rowlet.

Mikio hooted in reply and spread out his wings, taking off into the sky. He flew around Azura in circles and dove straight down at her. Azura let out a sound of surprise as Mikio rammed into her side causing her to be pushed hard to the right.

"Don't let that stop you, Azura! Use water gun!" Hau commanded, smiling as Azura got back her bearings and looked back up at the Rowlet that was still in flight above her.

Azura moved her head slightly back as a torrent was released from her mouth directed at Mikio. Moon opened her mouth to tell Mikio to dodge the water attack, but she had no time to. Before she could say anything, the attack hit Mikio dead on and knocked him out of the sky, sending him crashing onto the stage.

Moon winced as her Pokémon made contact with the stage and looked back at Hau and his Pokémon, slightly confused. She did not remember Azura's water gun being that strong to the point that it could send Mikio back to the ground from midair. She wondered if Hau had been training Azura on his own time.

"Now Azura! Finish it with pound!" Hau called out, excitedly.

Azura barked cheerfully at Hau's command and moved towards the still down Rowlet.

Seeing that Azura was getting ready to hit Mikio with her tail, Moon quickly shook her thoughts away and directed her attention back towards the battle. There would be time later to think about Azura's strong water gun. She needed to tell Mikio to dodge the incoming attack now.

"Mikio, dodge it!" She called out with urgency.

Mikio struggled to get up from the ground, but was able to narrowly dodge the tail that almost made contact with his body. He took off to the sky and once again, began to circle Azura.

"Use leafage!" Moon yelled out.

Mikio responded and released a barrage of leaves from his feathers and sent the attack at Azura. Azura howled in pain as the bright green leaves hit her rapidly, but she still stayed up.

"Use water gun once more, Azura!" Hau called out.

Once again, Azura released a torrent of water from her mouth at Mikio.

"Dodge it and use peck!" Moon commanded.

Mikio narrowed his eyes and shot down at Azura as the blast of water gushed at him. He narrowly dodged the water gun attack and tilted his beak at Azura ready to hit her with a peck attack, but Hau was quick to give another command to his Pokémon.

"Use pound!"

Azura lifted her tail and slammed her tail into Mikio just before he could peck her, sending him crashing back onto the stage. Moon stared shocked at her injured Pokémon now wondering what she could do. Her strategy was not working. Azura was able to send Mikio back to the ground hard after every attack.

"Use water gun one last time, Azura!" Hau called out to Azura.

Moon gritted her teeth and watched as Azura opened her mouth and released another torrent of water at Mikio. Despite the type disadvantage, it was obvious that Azura was stronger. But Moon was not going to let that stop her.

"Mikio, circle behind Azura and use peck!"

Mikio flapped his wings, and for the third time took up to the sky, just barely getting hit from the attack of rushing water. He quickly flew behind Azura and dove down at her hitting her full force with a peck attack causing the Popplio to be pushed to the ground with a cry. As Azura tried to get back up, Moon wasted no time to tell Mikio to attack Azura again.

"Use leafage, Mikio!"

"Hoot!" Mikio cried as he released another barrage of leaves at Azura.

Azura cried out in pain as the attack of leaves hit her rapidly, causing her to fall back onto the ground. She made no more movement to get back up.

"Azura is unable to battle. The winner of this ceremonial battle is Moon!" Hala declared gesturing towards Moon with his hand. Upon his declaration, the crowd erupted into applause. They cheered at both Moon and Hau congratulating them both on their battle.

"What? It's already over?" Hau said as he returned Azura back into her pokéball. He chuckled as he rubbed the back of his head.

"That was really awesome, Moon! I had a blast fighting you!"

Moon smiled. Even though Hau had lost, he was being cheerful. He was smiling energetically at Moon and speaking positively about the battle. She often wondered how Hau would always smile after losing a battle. She wished she could do the same.

"I... I had fun battling you too." Moon said shyly, her smile growing wider as Mikio landed on her shoulder and snuggled his head onto her cheek.

"It was a great battle."

Both Moon and Hau blinked and looked at Hala, who was smiling at them fondly.

"While both of you have just started as trainers, you both have developed a strong bond with your Pokémon. I would imagine even Tapu Koko-"

"Ko-ko-kooo!" A loud cry echoed throughout the town, cutting Hala off. Hala looked up at the sky and chuckled.

"Ho! You heard it yourself!" He said looking back at Moon and Hau with a smile full of pride, "Tapu Koko's song of approval."

Hala then widened his eyes as he remembered something and walked forward towards Moon.

"Oh, I nearly forgot! I believe it is time I returned this back to you, Moon."

Moon stared at Hala confused as he dug into the pocket of his jacket and took out a grey armband. He handed it to Moon, who took it transfixed on the small object. While she knew she had never seen the armband before, it was oddly familiar to Moon.

"What is this?" She asked shyly, looking up at Hala.

Hala smiled and motioned for Moon to slip the armband on her left wrist. Once she did, he began to explain to her what he gave her.

"That on your wrist is a Z-ring, a mysterious armband that can draw out the power that lies deep within Pokémon. It can bring forth their Z-Power. We kahunas can make them by refining stones like the sparkling stone you received from Tapu Koko. Please do take care of it, my child."

"I-I will. Thank you..." Moon said softly as she looked down at the gift on her wrist. She could sense the power that was overflowing in it. It was warm and welcoming.

"Although until you collect more Z-crystals during your island challenge, you will not be able to draw out the Z-Power of your Pokémon," Hala remarked, smiling thoughtfully. "And yet, you have already received that sparkling stone... It seems as though Tapu Koko has taken a liking to you. Or perhaps, it has a mission for you. Tapu Koko may see something unique in you."

"In other words, it's time for you to get out there and start your Island challenge!" A familiar voice exclaimed near them.

Moon, Hau, and Hala turned to where the voice came from to see Kukui grinning at them. Moon gazed at him confused at what he had said.

"Island Challenge?" she asked.

"You'll travel to each of the four islands here in the Alola region. The Island Challenge is all about aiming to be the strongest Trainer- the Island Challenge Champion! I'm sure if you visit every island, you'll figure out what this mission from Tapu Koko is." Kukui explained with enough excitement to rivals Hau's energy.

Moon nodded hesitantly. She did not know what to think about going to the other islands and participating in this challenge. She liked Iki Town and staying with Sun and his mother. She had no idea if she wanted to leave so soon when she had only just arrived.

"Professor, I believe you will have to discuss this at a later time. It is time I conclude the festival." Hala said to Kukui.

"You got it, Kahuna!" Kukui replied as he looked back at Moon, "I'll explain more about the Island Challenge later, so just keep it in your thoughts for now."

Moon slightly nodded as Hala gestured for her and Hau to make their way off the stage. Once they did, he began to speak and thanked the townsfolk for coming and Tapu Koko for its protection. When he was finished, everyone erupted into applause cheering for their Guardian Deity with gratitude.

After the ceremony was concluded, Moon found her way back to Sun and Nashima, who were both surprising close to the stage. She smiled at both of them and found herself enveloped in a hug by Nashima. She flinched at this affectionate contact, but quickly gave in to the warmth it gave to her. It was as welcoming and reassuring as the smiles that Nashima would always give her.

"You did amazing, Moon," Moon heard Nashima say as she found herself gazing again at her warm dark eyes. "You and Mikio fought wonderfully."

"Mom's right, Moon. For a battle that was fought in front of so many people for the first time, you and Mikio did well." Sun said by Moon as he rubbed Mikio's head, causing the Pokémon to coo at his touch.

Moon stared at the two now beginning to feel her eyes well up with tears. Her lips formed a soft smile as she moved back into Nashima's warm arms, burrowing herself into her chest.

"Thank you..." she said softly. "Thank you for believing in me."

Moon felt Nashima wrap her arms tightly around her. Moon knew that there did not have to be any words exchanged to understand what the action meant. She instantly understood what it meant. She would always be welcomed by Nashima and her love.

"Now let's get home, you two," Moon heard Nashima say as she slightly pulled away from Nashima, so that she could look at her, "I think it's about time we get some rest."

Mikio cooed softly at that statement causing everyone to laugh. The three then began to make their way out of Iki Town and onto the trail that led back to the house. Once they arrived back home, Nashima made Sun and Moon get ready for bed. As Moon prepared to go to her room, Sun stopped her.

"Moon, do you want to participate in the Island Challenge?"

Moon looked back at Sun in surprise at his question and felt her gaze go at the ground deep in thought.

"I-I don't know... I mean, I only just got here and I..." she trailed off, not knowing what else to say.

"I know," Sun said causing Moon to look back up at him, "but I think it would be a good idea for you to try it. You'll be able to see and experience new things."

"Besides," Sun added with a smile, "me and Hau will be with you every step of the way."

"I-I'll think about it. Thank you, Sun," Moon said.

"No problem. Goodnight!" Sun turned and walked over towards his room and entered it. He closed the door behind him and left Moon alone. She remained standing silently by her room, thinking about what Sun had told her.

Moon knew Sun was not pushing her to do the Island Challenge, but was giving her an idea of how the challenge could help her grow as a trainer. He was right in the fact she would experience new things. She would be able to see the other islands and see new Pokémon as well as meet new people.

Moon widened her eyes, realizing something. If she visited the other islands, it could also mean there was a chance she would find her, the blonde-haired girl that had saved her. Moon's mouth quickly formed into a smile at this thought. While she was not comfortable at the idea of participating in the Island Challenge, she knew it would be her best chance of finding the blonde-haired girl. She had to find her. She needed to, so she could thank her.

Moon yawned sleepily. For now, it was time to go to sleep. She opened her door and entered it, shutting the door behind her. She quietly moved to her bed as the sleeping Rowlet on her windowsill cooed softly in his sleep. As she laid down and closed her eyes, Moon found herself engulfed in a dream full of strange sounds, one of which she could scarcely remember coming from the bag the blonde-haired girl had with her upon their escape.

* * *

A lone girl stood on a cliff as she watched the receding waves. She stared at them in silence quietly thinking to herself what she should do now, when she felt her bag began to shake. She hastily placed her hands on the bag and kindly told the Pokémon in it to not come out.

"No, Nebby, you can't come out! We'll get in trouble if anyone sees you."

The Pokémon in her bag listened and stopped moving. The girl sighed in relief and continued looking at the dark blue sea. She had no idea where she was. When Nebby had separated her and the dark-haired girl she tried to help escape, she woke up alone in an unfamiliar place. She was afraid for the dark-haired girl. The dark-haired girl and Nebby were both important to her mother, but for dangerous reasons. That's why she had to get them out. She could not take it any longer watching her mother use them as if they were tools.

" _I hope she is okay_..." the girl quietly thought to herself as she gazed at the white moon that glowed in the starry night sky.

" _I have to find her before Mother does_."

And with that thought in mind, the girl turned and continued walking on the trail towards the glowing city that was visible in the distance. She was never going to let her mother use Nebby and the dark-haired girl for her dark purposes ever again.

* * *

 **A/N:** Hmm, now I do wonder who was that at the end of the chapter. Hehe! As always, thank you for your patience and please leave suggestions on the Pokémon Moon, Sun, or Hau should catch. Thank you!

 **Current Teams:**

Moon: Mikio (Rowlet)

Sun: Kuro (Litten)

Hau: Azura (Popplio)


	6. Setting Out

**A/N:** So there was a delay in getting this chapter out, but I had a good reason. I spent my week packing for college. I actually moved in to my dorm yesterday. My classes start tomorrow and to be honest, I really am not prepared for the college life. It feels weird having so much freedom. Anyway, with how busy my schedule is going to be, be prepared for more delays in getting chapters out. I will try to write them weekly, but I can't make any promises.

* * *

 **Ch. 6: Setting Out**

If there was one word that could describe the morning Moon and Sun set off, it would be heartwarming.

The day after the Full Force Festival, Moon spoke to Sun about the Island Challenge and told him she wanted to participate in it. Sun was ecstatic over Moon's decision and immediately went to Nashima to ask if they both could partake the challenge. Moon could tell Nashima was hesitant about it, but she gave in, understanding that it would be a good way for Sun and Moon to explore more of the islands.

After that, Nashima immediately went set to packing things in both Sun and Moon's bags that they would need for their journey including spare clothes and some food for them and their Pokémon. Moon was at first confused why Nashima would pack so much in their bags, but after an explanation from Sun, she learned that Nashima just wanted to make sure they would be prepared.

As Nashima prepared their things, Sun took Moon over to see Hau. She learned from them that ever since they were little, it had been their goal to take the Island Challenge right after they had received their starter Pokémon. They were happy that Moon would be taking the challenge with them, because now it meant they could share their goal with her.

"Isn't this great though?! We finally get to go out and see the other islands! Man, I can't wait to see what Pokémon we'll find!" Hau spoke in excitement as he raised his hand.

Sun chuckled as he tried calm Hau down. "We haven't left yet, Hau. Besides, we're still a long way ago from reaching our dreams."

"Dreams?" Moon questioned in curiosity as she looked away from Hau to Sun.

Sun turned towards Moon and smiled softly, as if he was remembering something fond that brought a sense a nostalgia in him.

"Years ago, after I just moved from Kanto to here with my Mom, I met Hau." Sun said as he turned towards Hau and continued. "We were kind of inseparable as my Mom liked to call it. One day, two trainers came to Iki Town from Kanto. They showed us all these amazing, strong Pokémon and even showed us a battle."

Sun paused, deep in thought and then continued. "They explained to me and Hau what was out there and how the journey you take with your Pokémon is something indescribable. Hau and I knew right then that we wanted to experience what they felt as they traveled with their Pokémon."

Sun laughed and looked up at Moon. "Really, our dream is to just travel around with our Pokémon and experience new sensations with them. And with you here, it just makes the dream more special to have."

"What is your dream, Moon?" Hau asked with a wide grin.

Moon opened her mouth to answer, but paused having no idea what to say. She was happy that they had included her in their dream, but she also felt guilty. While they wanted to do the Island Challenge so they could fulfill a childhood dream, she wanted to do it to explore the other islands to find the person she wanted to thank. She felt she could not give Sun and Hau a reason why she wanted to the Island Challenge. Her reason felt too selfish in comparison to theirs.

Sun and Hau were important to her, but she could not find the courage to explain who she was looking for and where she exactly came from in fear of how they would look at her after. She vaguely told Sun she had a home, but even then, she could tell that Sun knew that there were some things she was hiding, things she was too terrified of and she barely could understand.

So instead, she simply told them she didn't have a dream yet.

After talking some more and getting some more training in for their Pokémon, Hau went back home, but not before telling Sun and Moon to meet him at Professor's Kukui's the next day before they would set off. When Moon and Sun arrived back at Sun's house, they were welcomed by a succulent aroma of food that was placed out on the table with Nashima welcoming them in. Looking at the food, Moon realized that there was more food on the table than previous nights. It left her with a hollow feeling in her chest. It would be the last dinner she would have made by Nashima for awhile.

The night was not easy as well. It was hard for Moon to fall asleep. Cold green eyes continued to haunt her dreams, while odd sounds were continuously whispered to her ears. Moon tried to ignore it all, but as the hours slowly ticked by in silence, Moon found herself deeply terrified. She forced herself to stay awake as she tried to understand the dreams and sounds. She must have dozed off because in the morning, she found Mikio snuggling against her chest cooing softly.

Despite being so tired, Moon tried to shake it off and got ready. Once she had washed herself up and changed, she exited her room with Mikio to find that a large amount of food had been placed on the table with Sun helping himself into some of the food. He noticed her and waved her over to eat. Below him was Kuro eating Pokémon food out of large green bowl. As Moon seated herself at the table, Mikio dove to the floor and began eating at a rapid pace.

However, that was not the case for Moon. She tried to eat, but she realized the lack of sleep was not giving her much of an appetite for anything. Sun noticed this and asked her if she okay, but Moon was quick to deny anything that suggested she was not feeling well. She did not want to worry Sun especially since it was suppose to be a special day for them.

It was only after Sun and their Pokémon had finished eating that Moon realized Nashima was not in the room. Just as she opened her mouth to ask Sun where she was, Nashima exited from her room carrying their bags. She handed the bags to them with a weak smile. Moon quickly realized that Nashima was shedding tears.

"M-mom?" Sun asked, his eyes widening with worry.

Nashima simply shook her head and enveloped both Sun and Moon into her arms. Moon remained still for a moment, surprised at the embrace, but returned the hug. She was still not use to Nashima's warm embrace, but always tried to return it.

"Sun, please take care of Moon. I don't want her getting hurt again." Moon heard Nashima say as she felt Nashima's arms wrapped tighter around her.

"And Moon, please take care of my son. When he has his eye on something, he can get rash sometimes. But despite that, he is all I have left."

Moon felt Nashima embrace disappear as she and Sun now gazed into her beautiful dark eyes that seemed to shine with absolute love, yet were overflowing with tears. Nashima shook her head as she smiled softly.

"No, you two are all I have left. Please be safe and do not lose each other. I love you two so much, so please come back to me in one piece."

Sun blinked, but nodded and gave a confident smile back at Nashima. "I love you too Mom. Don't worry, I promise we'll come back safe and sound."

Moon nodded in reassurance. "I..I promise too." She stuttered as her mind continuously began to replay the words Nashima had just said.

Nashima truly thought of her as her child along with Sun. It made Moon's tiredness wash away as a warm feeling began to settle inside her chest. Nashima loved her just as much as she loved Sun. Moon was filled with happiness at knowing this. In comparison to HER love, Nashima's love was very much different. It was so welcoming and warm. It made Moon feel less afraid of things. In fact, it made her feel accepted. Nashima's love made it seemed like it was okay for Moon to simply be herself.

"Now you two should get going. Call me whenever you can and please keep together. Do not go anywhere alone without each other." Nashima said as she began to dry away the tears in her eyes. When she was finished, she embraced Sun and Moon one last time and sent them off with her blessings.

After leaving Sun's house, Sun led Moon to Professor Kukui's lab, where Hau had told them to meet up at. As Sun led her, he began explain to her how he and Hau would always go to the lab to learn about Pokémon from Kukui. It was Kukui who actually helped Sun and Hau learn some battling techniques. Since Kukui studied Pokémon moves, both Sun and Hau were able to understand at an earlier age the importance of moves a Pokémon would use in a battle.

"Although now that I think about it, Professor Kukui did teach us the strangest of ways." Sun finished as he turned towards Moon and slightly laughed in embarrassment.

They both continued to walk until they saw Hau standing by a house, waving at them. Like them, he had his backpack on ready to set out on a long adventure. Moon had to guess that like Nashima, Hala made sure Hau was well prepared for their journey.

"Sun! Moon!" Hau called out towards them cheerfully.

Moon smiled at Hau's lively energy and followed Sun as they walk towards Hau. They stopped in front of him as Hau smiled in absolute glee.

"A-lo-la! It's about time you two got here! I've been waiting so long now."

Sun shook his head knowing that Hau was exaggerating. "Alola to you too, Hau. And sorry, my Mom took some time to send us off."

Hau nodded as his mouth formed into a wide grin. "I understand. My Gramps took some time as well. It seemed like he didn't want me to leave just yet."

"So, what is Professor Kukui going to talk to us about?" Sun asked looking away to the building that they standing right next to.

Hau shrugged. "He told me after the festival that if we decided to take the Island Challenge, we should come over to his lab. But man am I excited! It's going to be so awesome taking on those Trials!"

Sun laughed. "Slow down, Hau. We're not there yet. Let's just head inside for now."

The three walked towards the door and knocked on it and waited for a response. What they didn't expect to hear was a loud thump that came from inside.

"Professor Kukui!" Both Sun and Hau called in immediate worry.

Not even thinking, they flung the door open and ran inside with Moon behind them. They found themselves inside a large spacious room. By a ladder that led to a loft, sat Kukui rubbing his head. On his chest, trying to lick his face, while whimpering softly was a Rockruff. Kukui looked up from his Rockruff and waved at the children.

"Oh hey there you guys! I didn't expect you to come so early! Since you are here, I'm assuming you want to take on the Island Challenge?"

"Um yes, but are you okay, Professor?" Sun questioned as he turned to look at the stools that were knocked over right by Kukui. Kukui noticed what he was looking at and laughed.

"Haha, I'm fine you three. Rockruff''s moves were just so stylin', and I was making good progress with my research that we didn't see those stools by us."

Hau laughed with a wide grin. "That seems just like you Professor."

Kukui chuckled in slight embarrassment at Hau's comment and turned towards Moon. "Say, Moon, can I see the Pokédex for a second?"

Moon nodded and took out the Pokédex out of her bag and handed it to Kukui. Kukui thanked her for it and carried the Pokédex to the table that was nearby them, which had a small white box sitting on it. Kukui leaned down and took out a small part out of the box and began outfitting the Pokédex with it. The three children watched Kukui in curiosity as he worked. They walked towards him as Hau asked a question.

"What are you doing to the Pokédex, Professor?"

Just installing with new parts," Kukui said as he installed another part into the Pokédex. "Anyways, do you know anything about a Pokémon called Rotom?"

"It's a Ghost/Electric-type Pokémon that can take residence inside machines, right?" Sun answered.

"You got it, Sun! And it to put that crazy skill of Rotom's to work... It's the next generation of Pokédexes, but it's only complete once Rotom has gone into this body specially developed for it. Why it's a whole new way for people and Pokémon to communicate!" Kukui explained in excitement.

"But Professor, aren't Rotoms rare?" Hau asked as he looked closer at the Pokédex in Kukui's hands.

"That they are, Hau," Kukui said. "But I have a buddy of mine who is helping me locate Rotoms that are willing to assist us. In fact, I have one of them right here."

Kukui took out a Pokéball out of his pocket and pressed the white button. The Pokéball shook and released a Rotom, which cried in surprise at being released. Kukui chuckled and apologized to the Pokémon.

"Sorry about that Rotom. Didn't mean to surprise you."

"Whoa!" Hau yelled in excitement as his eyes shined with delight. "So cool! A Rotom! Isn't it amazing, Moon?!" He asked as turned towards Moon, who had been silent the whole time.

She was surprised at Hau's question, but responded to it with a smile. "Yes, it is." She answered shyly.

"And I'm finished." Kukui called out turning towards the three children with the newly updated Pokémon in his hands. He held it out towards Rotom.

"Rotom! Here, little guy! I have a brand new body here for you to try out. Jump into this 'Dex and give these kids a Helping Hand."

Rotom let out a cry of delight and dove into the Pokédex. The device shook for a few seconds before it suddenly floated into the air. A pair of eyes appeared on the Pokédex as a voice happily greeted the three trainers.

 _"Bzzzt! Nice to meet you, pals! Be careful to this body, okay?"  
_  
"I-its talking." Hau stuttered, stunned at the new Pokédex's appearance. Like Hau, both Sun and Moon were stunned as well.

"Haha! Now Rotom can talk to you guys. Since you three will be traveling far, I decided to give this special Rotom Dex to you guys to help you navigate around." Kukui explained cheerfully as he placed the parts he did not use back inside the box.

"Wow, thanks so much, Professor." Sun said politely.

"Yeah! Thanks a lot!" Hau added.

"T-thank you." Moon quietly added as well.

"It's no problem. Just want to make sure you three will be in good hands. Now Rotom can activate a couple of added features in your Pokédex including a map of all the islands. Just ask and he'll be happy to help. Right, Rotom? " Kukui said, winking at Rotom.

 _"Bzzt! Of course, Professor!"_

"Now for the other reason why I wanted to see you three. See, there are some important things you need to know first about the Island Challenge before you leave." Kukui explained.

"What things?" Hau questioned, looking away from the Rotom Dex and back at Kukui.

"Alrighty, first the Island Challenge is your chance to become the strongest trainer around- the Island Challenge Champion. It's a great adventure for you and your Pokémon to go together!"

Kukui paused and continued speaking: "There are four main islands that make up Alola, with Melemele Island being one of them. There is a Kahuna for each of them. If you wish to be recognized by the Kahunas as someone who is worthy, you must clear the seven Trials."

Kukui's mouth formed into a large grin as he looked at each of the children.

"Sun, Hau, and Moon, I want you three and your Pokémon to go out there and give it your shot. It is clear from the battling I've seen you guys have with each other that you are bringing your Pokémon's strengths to the fullest. I think with the bonds you have with your Pokémon, you can definitely achieve greatness!"

Kukui chuckled and dug into his coat pocket taking out three amulets.

"Here." He said as he he handed one to each of the children. As Moon, Sun, and Hau fasten the amulets on their bags, Kukui explained what the amulets were for.

"What I just gave to each of you is an Island Challenge Amulet. Everybody who participates in the Island Challenge gets one."

"Thanks, Professor," Sun said as he looked away from his amulet and back to the Professor. "Is that everything?"

"Yeah! Now you three get along. Head to Hau'oli City, where you'll find information about your first Trial. And contact me when you can. I want to keep updated on your adventure. It may help me with my research. Oh, and here, Kukui said as he took something else out of his coat pocket.

He took out several Pokéballs and handed a few to each child. Sun and Hau stared at the Pokéballs with excitement clear in their eyes, while Moon just stared at them with an indifferent expression. While she was not clearly excited about what Kukui gave to them, she still was grateful that he would give something to them without expecting anything in return.

"Consider this as a personal gift from me, so you can catch more Pokémon," Kukui explained with a cheerful grin as he gave a wink at the three trainers. "Now get out there and do your best!"

"You got it, Professor!" Both Sun and Hau said loudly to the Professor in gratitude.

Once again, Moon, Sun, and Hau thanked Kukui for everything and bid him farewell. It was only after they left Kukui's lab did the three began to realize that they were finally setting out. They stood silently on the route as the Rotom Dex floated right next to them. It was finally time for the three friends to take the first step to their journey.

"Are you ready, Moon? Hau?" Sun asked with eagerness as he looked at the others.

"As ready as I will be!" Hau answered, his eyes beaming with overflowing excitement.

Moon simply nodded. "O-of course."

And with those final words, the three settled off on their new adventure together not knowing that it was an adventure that would change each of them forever.

* * *

 **A/N:** Next chapter will feature one of the three main characters catching a Pokémon. You're free to make guesses though. As always, many thanks for reading!

 **Current Teams:**

Moon: Mikio (Rowlet)

Sun: Kuro (Litten)

Hau: Azura (Popplio)


	7. A Shocking New Friend

**A/N:** I apologize for the long delay. I've been so busy with college and work, that I haven't had time to actually write. Even so, I will try to continue to write more chapters next month, but with how busy my schedule is, it's going to be difficult. Other than that, I hope you guys enjoy this chapter.

* * *

 **Chapter 7: A Shocking New Friend**

"Aww, it got away!" Hau whined, kneeling down to the ground.

"Well, what do you expect, Hau? You kind of scared it away." Sun said as he walked up to Hau and placed a hand on his shoulder to comfort him.

Moon, Sun, and Hau were currently in a grassy field. After an hour of walking, Sun had suggested that they should try to find Pokémon to catch, which Hau quickly took to heart. He immediately dived win to the closest field that was near them. Both Moon and Sun were surprised that he managed to find a Pikipek hiding in the grass. But before Hau could even call Azura, his Popplio, out to battle the Pikipek, it flew away, obviously frightened by how big Hau was in comparison to it.

"Catching a Pokémon is harder than I thought. Professor Kukui always made it look easy." Hau said as he stood back up from the ground.

"Well the Professor is kind of an expert on that matter. I mean, we just recently got our Pokémon." Sun said, looking away from Hau towards Moon. "What do you think, Moon?"

Moon shrugged her shoulders as she took a step forward towards the two. "I don't know how to feel about it yet," she answered quietly. "I have never tried to catch a Pokémon before."

"Well I'm not going to give up just yet!" Hau declared as he raised a fist to the sky. "I'm going to make a new friend today!"

Sun shook his head, while Moon smiled at Hau's outburst. It was clear that Hau was not going to stop trying to catch a Pokémon just yet, but Sun knew Hau needed the break after an hour of walking. He then decided to suggest to him and Moon they take a break and eat lunch. Hau was reluctant, but decided to go along with Sun's idea. After all, looking for a Pokémon on an empty stomach was not the greatest of ideas.

"Hey Rotom, how long until we reach Hau'oli City?" Hau asked to the Rotom Dex that was floating near them.

The three trainers were now sitting together, while eating freshly made sandwiches that were prepared for them by Nashima. Sitting near them were their Pokémon, also eating food. Sun, Moon, and Hau knew they couldn't just eat without their Pokémon, so they called them out of their Pokéballs to take a break as well.

 _"Bzzzt. In about an hour."_ Rotom replied showing a map on the screen. It showed the location where Moon, Sun, and Hau were at. Near them highlighted was the trail they had been walking on. Hau'oli City was not too far away from them.

"Awesome! I can't wait till we get there!" Hau chirped. He brought his hand down to grab the last sandwich from his plate only to find the plate was empty. Hau looked down, confused and began to look around.

"That's funny. I know there was one more sandwich..." he murmured to himself.

Nothing that Hau was no longer eating, Sun placed his half eaten sandwich back on his plate.

"What wrong, Hau?" He asked.

"My sandwich is gone." Hau answered as he stood up and began to search around for the missing food. Both Sun and Moon watched him as he turned over a small rock near them. Moon was slightly confused over what Hau was doing, while Sun had a small amused smile.

"Hau, you do know food doesn't just walk away, right?" Sun asked.

"I know!" Hau replied as he placed the small rock back. "But I know my sandwich was on my plate a minute ago!"

"Maybe you forgot that you ate it?" Sun suggested, his shoulders shrugging slightly.

"Hey! I know I didn't! I would have remembered then!" Hau spoke out, trying to defend himself. Although she had just met Hau not even a week ago, it was hard for Moon to have faith in his words. His bubbly personality made it quite difficult for him to be taken seriously.

"Pipichu!"

Moon blinked at hearing the sound that was just made. She looked away from Hau and Sun, who were arguing now and began to look around. Although the voice was soft, it was close.

 _Snap!_

Moon instantly looked up to where the other distinct sound came from and found herself staring at a small black and yellow Pokémon on a tree branch that was above her. The Pokémon stared back at her with the sandwich in its two small hands. It tilted its head at her obviously knowing it had been caught.

"Sun, Hau, please look over here." Moon said, using a soft tone to not frighten the Pokémon away. Although it was wrong of it to steal food, she hoped that Hau would forgive the Pokémon.

"What is it, Moon?" Hau asked, looking away from Sun. Both of the boys directed their attention over to where she was and found themselves staring at the yellow and black Pokémon that Moon had found with the sandwich held in its small hand. Seeing that everyone was now staring at it, the Pokémon snickered and plopped the whole sandwich in its mouth. It chewed and swallowed the sandwich, grinning devilishly when it was finished.

"Hey!" Hau called out, his eyebrows furrowing. "That was mine!"

The Pokémon stuck its tongue out and turned and wagged its tail at Hau. Hau gritted his teeth and moved to climb the tree. Both Moon and Sun watched him do this, both frowning at what he was doing.

"Hau, I think you should stop and think about this." Sun spoke up in disapproval, as Hau inched closer to the branch the small Pokémon was on. "You're going to fall."

"You don't steal someone's food!" Hau yelled out determinedly, his eyes blazing in fiery passion. Moon sighed at this, while Sun just shook his head frowning. It was obvious Hau was not going to listen to them.

"Almost there..." Hau muttered to himself as he eyed the Pokémon that was snickering at him.

He hoisted himself onto the tree branch and let his legs dangled on each side. He inched forward towards the Pokémon that was on the end and held his hand out to it.

"I won't let you get away with this," Hau said to the Pokémon.

The Pokémon stopped snickering and tilted its head at Hau, its mouth forming into a wide smile. Before Hau had any time to react, it hopped onto his head and released electricity from the saps on its cheeks.

"Pichu!"

"Ahhhh!" Hau cried as the yellow electricity wrapped around him giving him a slight shock. Moon and Sun could only watch as the pain caused Hau to lose his hold on the tree limb, sending him spiraling down onto the ground. He crashed onto it face down, moaning in pain.

"Ughh..." Hau groaned.

"Pipichu!" the small Pokémon chirped in laughter as it pointed its small hand at Hau. Hau moved his head up from the ground and glared at the laughing Pokémon. He was definitely not going to let the small yellow Pokémon go after what it did to him. It was not over yet.

 _Ding Dong!_

The small Pokémon stopped laughing and tilted its head to the direction where the loud sound came from. It's ears twitched and it suddenly moved, jumping off the branch it was on and landing onto one near it. It continued to do so, jumping from one branch to the next as it moved farther away from Hau and the others.

"Hey!" Hau called. He gritted his teeth and called Popplio back into her Pokéball. Once she had returned to it, he immediately got up on his feet and took after the small Pokémon, leaving Sun and Moon behind.

"Wait! Hau!" Sun called out, hoping that Hau would hear him, but Hau was already too far away. Sun sighed and turned. Moon watched as went to pick up the bowls and plates they had used to eat their food and placed them into his bag, He placed his backpack on his back and picked up Hau's bag as he looked over to Moon.

"Let's go make sure Hau doesn't hurt himself."

Moon nodded and she went to put her own bag over her shoulder as she and Sun called back their Pokémon back into their Pokéballs. Once this had been done, they took off on the path Hau had taken. As they ran, Moon turned towards Sun and asked him about the Pokémon that had taken Hau's food.

"What was that Pokémon, Sun?"

"A Pichu" Sun answered, turning towards Moon. He opened his mouth to say more, but Rotom, who was floating by Moon, cut in.

" _Bzzzzzzt! Leave the explaining to me, pal!"_

Sun rolled his eyes and he and Moon watched as an image of a Pichu appeared on Rotom's screen as he began to explain what Pichu was.

" _Pichu, the Tiny Mouse Pokémon. It is not quite skilled at controlling electricity, yet. If you take your eyes off of it, it may electrocute itself."_

"A Pichu…" Moon hummed to herself, slowly digesting the information Rotom had just said. She blinked and turned towards Sun with another question.

"Do you think Hau will be okay?" she asked.

"I wouldn't worry," Sun answered as he continued looking forward. "While Pichu can give a small shock, it shouldn't be enough to cause serious harm to Hau. It's what Hau will get himself into is what I'm worried about."

Moon nodded and she continued to follow Sun down the path Hau took. It seemed like hours of continuous running until they spotted Hau standing in front of a gate with young children surrounding him. Sun narrowed his eyes at this and picked up his speed. Of course Hau would get himself into trouble.

"Hau!" Sun called out for his friend. He stopped along with Moon near the children, watching as the children turned towards them.

"Sun, help! These guys won't let me through!" Hau said, pointing towards the direction of the gate.

"That's because you scared Pichu, you meanie!" A little girl with blue eyes interjected.

"But he stole my food!" Hau argued. He turned towards Sun with puppy dog eyes. "Sun, help me out!"

Sun took a step back, smiling awkwardly as he raised his hands. He turned towards the gate they were standing in front of and widened his eyes, realizing where they were at now. They were at the Trainers' School, an academy for children to learn the basics of Pokémon and how to be a Pokémon trainer. The curriculum was for all children, ranging from those who were still too young to have a Pokémon, and to those that had already received their first Pokémon. Professor Kukui would occasionally go to the Trainers School to give advice to the children and would come back with many stories about the youth. But of course, he had to leave out one detail.

Young children were scary when they were angry.

"Children, it's time to come back in. Why are you out here?"

Everyone turned their heads towards the direction where the voice came from, finding a woman staring at them with concern in her soft gray eyes, hidden underneath her glasses. She walked towards them and placed both of her hands on her hips, giving a stern look at the children.

"Would you explain, please?"

"We're sorry, Ms. Iris, but that boy was trying to hurt Pichu!" One of the boys spoke up, pointing at Hau.

Hau gritted his teeth. "No, I wasn't! I just wanted to teach Pichu that it's not right to steal food!"

"I see," Ms. Iris. murmured. "But even then children, you should not have treated this boy so poorly. That will not solve anything."

All the children drooped their heads and slowly nodded, understanding what they did was wrong. They all turned towards Hau and bowed.

"We're sorry for not letting you in and saying all those mean things to you," they all said.

Hau grinned sheepishly. "Hey, it's okay. I know you guys didn't mean it."

All the children raised their heads and laughed at Hau's response. Ms. Iris. smiled and clapped her hands, redirecting the children's attention back to her.

"Now children, please go back to the classroom. It will be a study period. I would like to talk to our guests."

"Yes, Ms. Iris!" all the children said. They all turned away from Hau and took off towards the school building leaving the three trainers along with the teacher. She smiled kindly at them and crossed her arms as she opened her mouth.

"Now then, what is this do I hear about teaching Pichu to not to steal?"

"Oh, well you see, me and my friends were eating lunch and Pichu stole some of my food." Hau explained, gesturing towards Sun and Moon. Ms. Iris. looked over to them and sighed, placing a hand on her cheek.

"That Pichu is trouble…" she mumbled softly.

"Wait, you know that Pichu? Does it belong to you?" Sun asked.

Ms. Iris shook her head. "No, the Pichu you are looking for belongs to nobody as far as I know of. It appeared here one day from the forest, looking for food. Of course, the children couldn't leave the poor thing to starve, so they brought it food. Ever since then, Pichu has been coming every day after our lunch period to get food from the children, and it causes mischief every now and then."

"Why is that Pichu all alone though? Sun asked. "Normally, Pichu like to stay in groups."

"I know, and I have tried to find other Pichu, but I can't seem to find any. It's sad to think that that poor Pichu is always by himself in that forest with nobody to care for it."

Hau furrowed his eyebrows, completely shocked at what Ms. Iris had said. Pichu were social

Pokémon. It was difficult for them to live on their own. In a group, Pichu developed relationships with one another, allowing them to gain courage. But the Pichu that had stole Hau's food didn't have that to look forward to. And it was disheartening for Hau to realize that.

'Ms. Iris," Haru said as he looked directly at the teacher with determined eyes. "I'm going to catch Pichu."

"Wait, are you sure, Hau? Sun asked, taking a step forward to Hau.

Hau looked back to Sun and nodded towards him, his mouth forming into a wide grin. "Yeah! I can't leave knowing Pichu is so lonely! I want Pichu to become part of the family!"

"Hau…" Moon muttered, her lips shifting upwards into a small smile. Hau's happy-go-lucky attitude often got him into sticky situations, but that did not matter to Moon. What mattered was his big heart and kindness for others. Hau cared much for others and it was now more apparent to her than ever how much he was willing to hold out his hand for anyone when they needed it.

"That would be wonderful, but Pichu won't let anyone catch him. Many of the children here that have already received a Pokémon have tried, but Pichu won't allow it." Ms. Iris explained as she frowned.

"Then I'll just get Pichu to want me to catch him!" Hau chirped. "Do you know where Pichu is?"

Ms. Iris nodded. "It might be on the playground by the battle field. It waits there sometimes until school ends to see the children more."

"Got it!" Hau declared. "May my friends and I look for Pichu?"

"You are welcomed to." Ms. Iris said with a serene smile. "But first, may I ask your names."

"I'm Hau," Hau chirped with a wide smile.

"Sun," Sun answered with politeness.

"Moon," Moon said, shyly.

Ms. Iris nodded. "I am Ms. Iris. You three are welcome to come look on the school's property as long as you do not damage anything."

"We won't" Sun assured. "I'll keep an extra eye on Hau."

"Hey!" Hau said, narrowing his eyes at his best friend, who only looked away with an amused smile.

Ms. Iris laughed at this and gestured for the three trainers to come in the gate. After they did, she gave them directions where to go to find the school's playground and battlefield and left to go back to her classroom. When she left, Hau wasted no time heading to the place Pichu would be at. Of course, he got easily lost, but Sun quickly took control of the situation. He led him and the others to the playground using the directions Ms. Iris had given them, and eventually, the three found the place they were looking for.

Once they got to the small playground, Hau immediately cupped his hands over his mouth and called out for Pichu.

"Pichu! Are you here?! Come out, please!"

Sun and Moon watch silently as Hau called out to Pichu, as the Rotom spoke.

" _Bzzzzt. I cannot comprehend why he is calling out for Pichu. There is a 0.0001% chance that Pichu will come out for him."_

Sun chuckled at Rotom's analysis of the situation and placed Hau's backpack down and took off his own. He dug into it until he found what he was looking for and took it out. Both Moon and Rotom watched puzzled as he walked towards Hau with a small piece of a sandwich in his hands. He handed it to Hau with a wink.

"Here, Hau. Try this."

Hau blinked and took the sandwich, staring at it confused until his eyes suddenly widened in understanding. He thanked Sun and turned, holding out the sandwich in front of him outstretched.

"Pichu, I have more food for you!"

As soon as Hau said those words, a yellow blur jumped out from under one of the tunnels and snatched the sandwich out of Hau's hand. It dashed onto the slide and sat onto the top of it revealing itself to be Pichu. It smiled as it plopped the small piece of the sandwich into its mouth and chewed as its mouth formed into a wide smile. It was obvious that Pichu loved food.

"Pichu!" Hau called out to the yellow Pokémon as he tried to get its attention. "Please let me catch you!"

The Pichu stopped smiling and its eyes narrowed at Hau.

"Chu!" It said. It turned its body around and began to wag its tail at Hau in mockery.

Hau ignored this though and continued speaking to the Pichu. "I understand why you took my food, Pichu. And I can't stay mad at you for that. But I can't let you continue like this. Aren't you lonely?"

Pichu stopped wagging its tail and turned back to Hau, stunned at what Hau said. It turned towards the school building that was not too far away from them as its ears drooped. Hau caught what Pichu was staring at and frowned.

"The children here care about you, huh? They bring you food everyday, but we both know that's not enough for you. You know that you need more than that, Pichu."

Pichu shook its head, denying what Hau said, and jumped off the slide it had been standing on, landing onto the ground. It scurried over to Hau as its pink cheek saps sparkled with electricity and tackled his chest head on giving a slight jolt to Hau. Hau flinched at this attack, but made no move to respond to it. Instead, he grabbed onto Pichu and enveloped the small Pokémon into his arms. Pichu growled and started to bite onto Hau's arms to make him release him, but eventually stopped when it saw Hau's expression.

Hau was now shedding tears.

"I'm sorry," he choked out as tears began to slide down his cheeks. "I'm sorry that you have been alone for so long. It's okay though. I'm here for you."

Pichu stared at Hau in silence and turned away. It stopped wiggling itself to get out of Hau's arms and laid its head onto his arm, beginning to lick the bite marks it had made on Hau's arms with its tongue. Hau winced in pain, not realizing how much the bite marks were hurting.

"Pichu?" he asked, letting his grip on the small yellow Pokémon go a little.

Pichu noticed this and wiggled its body once more. It managed to heave itself out of Hau's arms and jumped onto the ground next to Hau. It turned its body around and stared up at Hau with new emotions swimming in its eyes.

Hau smiled at Pichu and held out his hand towards it.

"I won't force you, but please come with me. I promise you'll never feel alone again."

Pichu's eyes began to grow watery and it launched itself onto Hau's chest, snuggling its face into it. Hau placed his hand on the small crying Pokémon rubbing it softly as he tried to comfort it. He hated seeing Pichu so sad, but that only strengthened his resolve to help it. He didn't want to see Pichu sad ever again.

Eventually, Pichu's tears went away and it raised its head from Hau's chest. It stared at Hau with its dark brown eyes as it began to climb from his chest and snuggled its cheek onto Hau's cheek. Before Hau could even react, electricity sparked from Pichu's cheek saps, giving a slight jolt to Hau. Hau yelped in pain as Pichu laughed and climbed off of him, landing onto the ground. When Hau regained his composure, he found Pichu looking at him with a large mischievous smile. And yet, it was quite different than the smile it had given him earlier. There was more familiarity with the smile now.

"I think Pichu wants you to catch him," Sun remarked as he turned to Hau.

"Really?!" Hau asked in excitement. He turned to Pichu with an eager expression. "Are you sure, Pichu?"

"Pipichu!" Pichu chirped, wagging its tail at Hau.

"Alright, catch Hau!" Sun said. He took out an empty Pokéball from Hau's bag and threw it to him.

Hau caught the Pokéball and turned to Pichu with a large grin. He stepped forward to Pichu and kneeled down to it, holding out the Pokéball towards Pichu. Pichu immediately scurried to the Pokéball and hit the white button with its tail causing the small Pokémon to be transferred to it. The Pokéball shook in Hau's hand for several seconds until it stopped, signaling that Pichu had been caught. Once it had, Hau extended the Pokéball to the sky as he excitedly pointed out his new Pokémon.

"Yeah! I caught Pichu, a new friend!"

Sun laughed and went over to his friend and placed his hand around him as he congratulated him. Moon watched, smiling as Rotom added new information into his data about Hau's catch. She was happy for Hau and Pichu. Pichu was mischievous, but with someone like Hau to care for it, she was sure Pichu was going to grow.

Once Hau had settled down, the three friends and Rotom headed back to the school to meet with Ms. Iris and the children. The children were sad to learn that Pichu had been caught, but happy at the same time for the Pokémon. Hau allowed Pichu to say its goodbyes to the class as he promised to them that he would take good care of Pichu. When they had finally left the school and started their way back on the path to Hau'oli City, Hau looked over to the Pichu on his shoulder and spoke.

"Pichu, I'm going to call you Maui."

"Maui?" Sun questioned.

Hau nodded and placed his finger under Pichu's chin, rubbing it softly.

"I hope that we become great friends, Maui."

"Pichu!" Maui chirped as it enjoyed Hau's soft touch. It snuggled its face more onto Hau's cheeks, happy that it had found Hau. It had always been alone and now, it wasn't. Hau had found it. And now, it had a family to call its own.

* * *

 **A/N: Thank you for reading, as always! Next chapter, Moon and the others arrive at Hau'oli City.**

 **Current Teams:**

Moon: Mikio (Rowlet)

Sun: Kuro (Litten)

Hau: Azura (Popplio), Maui (Pichu)


	8. Lost in the City

**A/N:** So I have midterms this week and I am so stressed. Since I'm so overwhelmed with studying for so many exams, I figured writing this chapter will help me relax a bit. Since it's almost Halloween, I'm going to be extra giving and answer some questions at the end of this chapter that some readers pm me last month. Happy Halloween everyone and please do enjoy this chapter!

 **Guest:** Gracias! Voy a intentar actualizar siempre que puedo!

* * *

 **Chapter 8: Lost in the City**

When they arrived at Hau'oli City, Moon found herself absorbed in her new surroundings. She realized that Hau'oli City was much larger in comparison to Iki Town. There were many buildings, streets, and cars all around with many crowds of people. She never realized that there were larger cities. She had assumed that most of the places she, Sun, and Hau would visit would be roughly the same size. She was embarrassed that she assumed this. Especially when Sun and Hau were knew about the size of the city they had just arrived at. From what they had told her, they had been at Hau'oli City countless of times.

"Oh boy, Sun! I can't wait to get a malasada! They're the best food in the world!" Hau beamed, his eyes twinkling in excitement as his mouth salivated at that thought.

The three stopped by the beach that was near the entrance of the city. Moon listened to the waves as they softly crashed against the shore, smiling fondly at the sound the waves made. It was a gentle, peaceful sound that she could never get tired of. It reminded her that there so many things that were yet to be explored by her. Now that she was on a journey with Sun and Hau, she could experience those things. The very things that were kept away from her for as long as she remember.

" _Bzzzt! I cannot see how malasadas are the best food in the world."_ Moon heard Rotom pipe up by her. She turned away from the beach to see Rotom moving away from her towards Hau. He stopped in front of him with a big red question mark on his screen.

Moon watched this, silently agreeing with Rotom. As soon as they started to get closer to Hau'oli City, Hau started to talk nonstop and about malasadas. As she listened to Hau describe them, she found out that they were a type of food that could be bought at Hau'oli City. Although she had no idea what they looked like or tasted like, given how Hau was so excited for them, she wondered if they were as good as he claimed they were.

"You'll understand when you try them, Rotom. Trust me." Hau said as he winked at Rotom, interrupting Moon's thoughts.

She watched as Hau turned towards Sun with a wide smile. "Right, Sun?"

Sun nodded, but frowned.

"But before we do that, we should probably meet that person Professor Kukui wanted us to meet." Sun pointed out reminding Hau that they didn't come to Hau'oli City just for sightseeing.

Immediately, Hau's shoulders slumped forward. "Aww, can't we at least take a small break to relax? We just got here!"

"Well…"

Sun looked over to Moon and gave Hau's statement some thought. It would be beneficial for them to relax for awhile. Especially, since they had walked quite a bit from the Trainers School. And knowing Hau, it wouldn't do good to keep him away from malasadas for so long now that they were in Hau'oli City. After all, they were his favorite food.

"Okay," Sun decided, as he looked back to Hau. "Let's go get those malasadas then."

"Yeah!" Hau exclaimed, extending his fist into the air in excitement.

Before Sun could even tell him to calm down, Hau took off into the street and turned into another street, leaving Sun and Moon behind.

"Wait, Hau!" Sun yelled, hoping that Hau would hear him. It was obvious that he didn't.

Sighing in annoyance, Sun glanced over to Moon and told her to follow him. He took off into the direction Hau went, disappearing around the same street Hau had turned into with Rotom not too far behind. Moon moved to follow him, but when she turned into the same street, she found no sign sign of Sun and Hau waiting for her. Instead, all around her were crowds of people shopping or having conversations with each other.

Realizing that Hau and Sun were nowhere in sight and that she was alone, Moon immediately began to panic. She took off into the crowd blindlessly as her thoughts became hazy with only one goal in mind: to find Hau and Sun. She ignored the constant stares she received from people as she ran as she looked everywhere for Sun and Hau. But the more times she turned into a different street, the more she began to grow fearful that she would never find Sun and Hau. After all, she had no idea where she was in the city to begin with.

"Oof!"

Moon felt her body collide with something hard, sending her body tumbling over towards the ground. But before her body could make contact with the pavement, she felt something warm grabbed onto her wrist, pulling her forward. Moon blinked, dazed, as she looked up to see who had caught her hoping that it was either Sun or Hau. Instead, she saw a pink-haired, young man staring down at her with worry present in his warm gray eyes. She stared at him in a stupor, slowly processing what just happened. She had never seen the person that had caught her before.

The pink-haired man released her hand as he politely apologized to Moon.

"My apologizes. I should have looked where I was going. I do hope you're not hurt?"

Moon slowly shook her head. The man smiled in relief as he spoke once more.

"That is good. I am Captain Ilima. And you are?"

"Moon…" Moon answered quietly.

Something flashed in the man's eyes, as if he recognized Moon's name. Moon noticed this, but did not make any effort to ask why he recognized her name. There were other things she needed to do. She had to find Sun and Hau first. She was worried that she would not find them.

"Are you here by yourself, Moon?" Moon heard Ilima say.

She turned towards him and shook her head. "No, I-I came here with my friends and I became separated from them."

"I see…" Ilima murmured to himself.

"Well then, how about I help you find your friends? I too am looking for some people. I have a feeling we might find both whom we're looking for if we stay together."

Moon stared at Ilima, confused. While she didn't want to refuse Ilima's offer, it was weird that he wanted to help her. They barely had just met, let alone introduced their names to each other, and yet, he wanted to help her.

Moon blinked and looked over to the maze of streets that were near them as she thought quietly. She wanted to refuse, but knew she couldn't. She was lost and had no idea where she was. If she had any chance of finding Sun and Hau, her best chance would be to look for them with Ilima. She hoped that he knew his way around the city.

"I would appreciate your help," Moon finally said as she looked back at Ilima in gratitude after so much time of thinking in silence. "Thank you."

Ilima simply nodded with a smile. "Now then, where do you think your friends have gone to?"

"They went to get malasadas, I think." Moon answered quietly.

Ilima placed his hand under his chin as he quietly thought about Moon's answer. "Hmm… Malasadas…"

He smiled as he dropped his hand back to his side. "If they are getting malasadas, then the only place to get them is the Malasada Shop."

"Malasada Shop?" Moon questioned, raising an eyebrow at the name.

Ilima nodded. "It's actually not too far away from here. Let's head there together."

Moon nodded and allowed Ilima to lead her away. Together, they walked towards a street Moon did not remember turning into and passed through it into a different street. As they walked, Moon found herself gazing at all the different buildings that surrounded her. Many of them displayed things at their windows that Moon assumed that people could buy. Other buildings that Moon observed were wider and taller houses. She wondered if large amount of people live in the houses. The one building that struck her the most was a tall building that seemed to stretched towards the blue sky. Moon stared at it with awe. She had no idea how people could build such tall buildings, but the size of them was interesting to observe.

"And we're here."

Moon looked away from the tall building she had been looking at and looked towards the place she and Ilima had stopped at. It was a small building that had pictures of a Pokémon on the windows and on the sign near the entrance. Moon stared at the shop puzzled. She wondered why Hau wanted to come to such a small shop.

"Shall we go in?" Ilima asked, noticing how quiet Moon was.

Moon nodded and together, she and Ilima walked inside the building. When they entered, Moon was struck by a succulent smell. She chose to ignore how the smell made her mouth watered and instead look around her new surroundings. She and Ilima were now in a small room. In front of them were two woman standing behind glass counters with food being displayed inside them. In the other side of the room were small booths. Moon noticed that there were people sitting in the booths eating the food with their Pokémon. Both them and their Pokemon looked unbelievably happy as they enjoyed their food.

However, there were no sign of Sun and Hau inside the shop.

"Do you see your friends?" Moon heard Ilima asked.

She shook her head with sorrow at is question and looked away from the booths towards to Ilima. "They're not here."

"Well then, let's confirm if they had come here." Ilima spoke, causing Moon to gaze at him in shock.

He walked towards the ladies in the counter and spoke once more.

"Greetings. Did you have any noticeable customers come in?"

Both of the woman looked at each other for a second and looked back at Ilima and nodded.

"Yes, we did. Two boys actually with a floating Pokédex." One of the woman said.

"But they immediately left before purchasing anything. I think one of them said that they left their friend behind." The second woman added.

Moon felt her stomach somersault at hearing what the woman said, as the sorrow she had been feeling began to wash away and be replaced with happiness. Sun and Hau had been here. And they were looking for her now. She had thought that maybe after so much time, they had forgotten her, but now she knew it was wrong for her to think of that. Sun and Hau wouldn't abandon her. She made a promise with them to go on this journey together with them. There was no way they were going to leave her behind and leave without her to anywhere.

From the corner of his eye, Ilima noticed Moon's renewed determination. It was as if a fire that had almost been extinguished had suddenly become lit inside of her. From his first meeting with her, he knew there something special about Moon. It was clear more than ever that she was more than the reserved girl he initially met. And if he was right, her battling skills would meet the criteria to move forward.

"I see. Thank you." Ilima told the women, choosing to push his thoughts away about Moon and continue helping her. He smiled in gratitude at them and turned towards Moon.

"If your friends are out in the city looking for you, then let's look out there as well. I am sure we will meet up soon."

"Right," Moon said, nodding with renewed confidence.

Ilima was a bit surprised by the change of her personality, but said nothing about it. If anything, he wanted to know the heights where the female Trainer that stood in front of could reach. Moon was definitely a Trainer he had to keep an eye on.

The two exited out of the Malasada Shop and walked towards the street to the left of the shop. As they walked, Moon kept her focus on her surroundings making sure to not miss anything. Ilima watched her as she do this with a slight smile. He could tell that Moon cared much about the friends she was looking for. He wondered if it was the same for her Pokemon.

Eventually, the two walked to a street that led to a port. They both stopped as Moon gazed at the cerulean, crystal clear water that surrounded the port. The gentle breeze gusted the waves back and forth calmly, as each ripple reflected the sunlight into a beautiful mosaic of colors. Moon gazed at the waves with a serene smile enjoying the beautiful canvas in front of her. She was always fascinated by the sheer beauty of the ocean.

"Do you see your friends?"

Moon blinked and turned away from the ocean to Ilima, slightly embarrassed that she had been captivated by the ocean yet again. After taking a quick look around her surroundings, she shook her head to Ilima and answered no to his question. Sun and Hau still were nowhere to be seen.

"I see. Your friends may have went back to the place where you were separated from. Do you know where that may be?"

Moon furrowed her eyebrows as she quietly processed Ilima's question. The last place she had been with Sun and Hau before they got separated was…

She widened her eyes realizing what that place was. The place that she should have remembered in the first place. She smiled as she turned to Ilima with her answer.

"We became separated right by the beach."

Ilima nodded, pleased that Moon remembered. "Then let's head there. Your friends may be there waiting for you."

Moon nodded and made to take a step, but stopped when a familiar voice could be heard nearby.

'Yo, yo, yo, check it! Look who it is! The girl who interrupted our fun last time!"

Moon frowned and turned along with Ilima to see two male Team Skull grunts walking towards them. She instantly recognized them. They were the same grunts that had hurt Hau and her with their Pokemon.

"We're going to make you pay for what you did!" the second male grunt said.

He took out his Pokéball and released a Salandit from it, the same one that had sent Moon falling off the cliff. She stared at it with fearful eyes, until she saw a hand reaching out in front of her. She looked away from the gleaming Salandit to see Ilima staring calming at the Team Skulls grunts.

"I suggest that you two leave. I won't stand for those who bring harm to others."

"Oh yeah?!" the first grunt seethed. He took out his Pokeball and released his Pokémon, a Pokémon that Moon had never seen before. She stared at it as the first grunt pointed at her and Ilima.

"Yo, let's check these fools! Let's show them that they can't get away mocking Team Skull!"

"Oh my… How terrifying…" Ilima mused. He turned to Moon with an amused expression. "Moon, let's battle together against these two."

Moon widened her eyes at Ilima's statement. Reluctantly, she nodded her head to fight with him. She was afraid to fight the people that stood in front of her that had hurt her and Hua, but she knew she had to fight. She had faith in her Pokémon and faith that Ilima would help make the two Team Skull pay for what they did.

"Mikio, please help!" Moon yelled, sending out her Rowlet out of his Pokéball.

She watched as Rowlet appeared out of the shining light and landed on the ground, softly cooing at Moon. She nodded at him and turned and watched as Ilima sent his own Pokémon out for the battle. She had never seen the Pokémon that he had called out, but Moon could tell that it was exceptionally strong.

"Salandit, use dragon rage on Yungoos!"

"Rattata, use bite on that Rowlet!"

Moon quickly shook her thoughts away and gave a command to Mikio. She had to focus on the battle.

"Mikio, surround yourself with leafage!"

Mikio hooted in response to Moon's command. He rotated himself as he released a barrage of leaves, completing engulfing himself inside the vortex of leaves. Both Rattata and Salandit stopped from attacking and stared at the vortex of leaves surprised as the two grunts gawked at Moon in shock at what she told her Pokémon to do. Nearby Moon, Ilima smiled, amused at the scene before him. Moon was definitely a splendid trainer. He turned away from her and gave his Pokémon a command.

"Yungoos, use yawn!"

Yungoos dashed forward to the two still Pokémon. Before the two grunts could command their Pokémon to attack again, Yungoos opened its mouth and released a loud yawn at Salandit and Rattata. The two grunts laughed after Yungoos had finished its attack and returned to Ilima's side.

"Ha! Is that the best you can do?! Check this!" The second grunt taunted. He pointed his finger at the vortex of leaves that Moon's Rowlet surrounded itself in as he gave Salandit a command.

"Use flamethrower, Salandit!"

Moon widened her eyes and opened her mouth to tell Mikio to escape, but a stream of fire quickly came into view from Salandit's mouth and immediately enveloped the green vortex of leaves. She heard Mikio cry out in pain and moved out of the chaos of burning leaves as he fell onto the ground. She watched as he slowly stood up, but winced at each movement he made. Moon had a sinking feeling that Mikio was badly hurt.

"Yo, yo, yo, time to finish this! Salandit, use dragon rage!" the second grunt commanded as he sneered at the injured Rowlet.

"Use assurance, Rattata!" the first grunt commanded, joining in the fun.

Moon bit into her bottom lip and moved to get Mikio out of there, but she felt a hand grabbed onto her wrist, stopping her from doing so. She turned away from the battle at Ilima, confused at why he was preventing her from protecting her Pokémon. But one look at his eyes told her that everything would be fine. Mikio would be okay.

"Hey, hey, hey! What gives!? Salandit, get up!"

"You too, Rattata! This is no time to be sleeping!"

Moon looked away from Ilima and back at the battlefield, seeing that both Salandit and Rattata were laying down on the ground asleep. She stared at them confused. She wondered when they had fallen asleep and why they were even asleep in the first place.

"Yawn is a move that lulls the Pokemon into falling asleep after a while after it is used," Moon heard Ilima say as she turned back to him.

His mouth formed into an amused smiled as he placed a hand on his hip. "Now then, let's end this battle, shall we? Moon, let's have your Rowlet and my Yungoos attack together."

Moon gaped at Ilima, but quickly shook her shock away. She nodded towards him as she turned back to Mikio, who stared back at her in determination. Despite the fact he was heavily injured from the flames that had overpowered him, she could tell that Mikio was still raring to fight once more. And so was she.

"Mikio, use leafage!"

"Yungoos, use take down!"

Mikio hooted and released another torrent of green leaves at the two asleep Pokémon. They were completely engulfed by them and immediately woke up from the attack the leaves dealt to their bodies. But before they could regain their bearings, Yungoos dashed towards them with speed and slammed its body into them full force, sending the two Pokémon crashing into the grunts. The grunts held onto their now fainted Pokémon and glared back at Moon with rage burning in their eyes.

"Yo, we ain't letting this go! We'll make you wish that you had never messed with Team Skull!"

Both of the grunts returned their Pokémon back into their Pokéballs and turned and ran away. Moon watched them leave in silence as she wondered if they would really show up again. It was clear more than ever now that they were out to hurt her and her friends. But she still had no idea what Team Skull even was and why the people in that group would even try to hurt others. It was immoral that they took joy in that.

"Coo…"

"Mikio!" Moon called out, suddenly remembering that her Rowlet was hurt. She ran forward to Mikio as she picked him up into her arms, assessing his injuries. She sucked in her breath when she noticed the small burns on Mikio's body. Mikio had been burned.

"Here, use this." Moon heard Ilima say behind her.

She turned away from Mikio to Ilima, seeing that he was holding out a small green spray bottle towards her. She hesitantly took it into her hands and stared at it, confused on what to do with it. Ilima noticed and softly smiled as he explained to Moon what he gave to her.

"This is a medicine that will heal your Rowlet from his burns. You must spray it directly onto Rowlet's burns."

Mikio nodded in understanding and turned towards Mikio. Slowly, she held the bottle up over the small burns on Rowlet's body and sprayed the medicine onto them. She felt Mikio wince in pain, but immediately became relaxed after several seconds. Smiling in relief that the medicine was working, Moon sprayed more onto the burns she had missed. Each spray made Mikio coo softly, but Moon could tell he was healing. Her Pokémon was no longer in pain from his burns.

When she was finally finished spraying the medicine onto Mikio's burns, Moon turned away from her sleeping Pokémon to Ilima and properly thanked him for his help. She was surprised that he was happy to help her. She didn't expect that from him.

"I must admit," Ilima said as he returned his Yungoos back to his Pokéball, "you and your Pokémon make quite an interesting team. I can tell you and your Rowlet have a strong bond."

"A strong bond…" Moon murmured to herself as she looked down at her sleeping Pokemon. Since meeting Mikio, she had come to see Mikio more than her partner. After all the lessons about Pokémon battles she received from Sun and Hau, she had learned how to trust Mikio and listen to his voice. Mikio was her first Pokémon that she befriended. She supposed it was natural for her to have a strong bond with him.

But despite that, she was afraid. She was afraid that Mikio would come to hate her for allowing him to get hurt. It was her fault that he had gotten burned from the Salandit for not telling Mikio to move out of danger fast enough. Because of that, she wondered if she was even good enough to be Mikio's trainer.

"Moon!"

Moon lifted **her** head, recognizing the familiar voice that called out to her from behind. She turned to see Sun and Hau waving at her as they ran towards her with Rotom floating next them.

She stared at them with a small smile as they moved closer to her each second. When they were finally near to her, she found herself immediately enveloped in a tight hug as she heard Sun and Hau apologize to her.

"We're so sorry, Moon! We didn't mean to leave you behind!" Hau said as he and Sun released Moon from their hug.

"I should have made sure you were next to me. I'm sorry, Moon." Sun said, bowing his head.

Moon stared at the two as her mouth slowly formed into a smile. She slowly shook her head as she spoke.

"It's okay. It was my fault as well. Thank you for finding me."

"So were you here this whole time Moon? How did you get here?" Hau asked as he looked around. He stopped once his gaze fell onto Ilima. He and Sun both narrowed their eyes on him in suspicion as they moved closer to Moon.

"Who is that, Moon?" Sun asked.

Moon opened her mouth to speak, but Ilima cut her off.

"My apologizes. How rude of me not to introduce myself. I am Captain Ilima, the Trial Captain of Melemele Island's Verdant Cavern, which is where you three will be taking your first Trial at."

* * *

 **A/N:** It's question time. Below are questions are things that readers have asked me that I haven't answered yet. Read at your own risk. Hehe~

 _ **Q:** Will Moon be shipped with either Sun or Hau?_

 **A:** No, she will not. She sees them somewhat as her new family. Besides, I'm not too big on romance (bad at writing it). But you'll find out later why exactly I haven't had any plans for Moon to get together will either of the boys.

 _ **Q:** Why does Hau seem much more stronger in battles than in compared to how he was in the games?_

 **A:** Something happened to Hau when he was a child that made him determined enough to want to become stronger. He does still want to have fun with his Pokémon, but as you can see, it's less than how he was in the games.

 _ **Q:** Why was Sun hesitant that Moon should be called 'Moon'?_

 **A:** Let's just say that the name 'Moon' is extremely important to him and his mother.

 _ **Q:** Are you going to take the new Pokémon games in consideration in this story when they come out?_

 **A:** I might. I haven't decided yet. And given how I'm basing this story on watching walkthroughs and reading summaries, it might be difficult, but we shall see.

 _ **Q:** Roughly how long will this story will be?_

 **A:** Yikes, that it a good question. Sadly, I don't have an answer for it. Because of my slow updates, it's safe to say it's going to be awhile before I can even hope to complete this story.

And that's all the questions I will be answering. If you enjoyed this, don't be hesitant to ask me more questions. I will answer them (if they don't ask for too much spoilers) in future chapters. As always, thanks for reading and please do review. They make me update a tad bit faster.

 **Current Teams:**

Moon: Mikio (Rowlet)

Sun: Kuro (Litten)

Hau: Azura (Popplio), Maui (Pichu)


	9. Remembrance

**A/N:** Happy Holidays everyone! I'm finally back with another chapter just in time before the new year. I do apologize for the long wait, but most of my time was put into college and writing chapters for Lost Data. Despite this, I hope I can continue to write more chapters. Let's think of that as my New Year's resolution.

 **RWBYSanctum:** Thank you! Those are good theories about Moon's connection to the Ultra Beasts. Unfortunately, I can't confirm them, but you're definitely on the right track.

 **Venandi:** Yikes, those definitely are good guesses. I can't confirm them since that would be huge spoilers. But yes, Moon does have a connection with the Ultra Beasts. You'll find out how she is connected to them later on.

* * *

 **Chapter 9: Remembrance**

"Kuro, use scratch one last time!" Sun called out to Kuro, his Litten, to attack the Pikipek that was standing in front of them.

He along with Hau and Moon had been training in a grassy field when a Pikipek had suddenly popped out from one of the surrounding trees and dove in at Kuro, attacking him with its beak without any remorse. Seeing how determined the Pokémon was in its attack against Kuro, Sun immediately decided that he should catch the small red and white bird Pokémon. It would be a mistake to disregard the Pikipek's strength and determination.

"Meowr!" Kuro cried as he dashed forward to the Pikipek.

He lifted his paw and scratched Pikipek with his sharp claws, causing the Pikipek to cry out in pain and fall to the ground. It tried to regain its bearings and stand back up to face its opponent, but the pain from Kuro's attack was keeping it from doing so.

Seeing his chance, Sun smirked and took out his Pokéball, throwing it at Pikipek. It hit Pikipek's body and opened, its light enveloping the Pokemon and sucking it into the device. It shook three times before making a soft ding, signifying that Pikipek had been successfully captured.

"Oh yeah, Sun! Congratulations!" Hau shouted in excitement, moving towards Sun. He put his arm around Sun, who had just finished picking up the still Pokéball that held his new partner. Sun smiled at Hau in embarrassment over the attention and let out a slight chuckle.

"Thanks Hau."

Sun looked away from Hau over to Kuro and smiled in gratitude at him.

"Thank you, Kuro, for helping me catch our new friend."

Kuro gave out a loud yawn and laid its body down on the soft blades of grass, curling itself into a ball. Sun shook his head at his Pokémon's behavior and returned him back into his Pokéball. It was difficult getting Kuro to battle for him. While Kuro was obedient, he had a laid back kind of attitude. And as such, it took effort to get Kuro to do anything that seemed like it would be too much for the Pokemon to do. Not that Sun didn't mind. In fact, he liked Kuro for what he was. It just meant he had to have more patience for Kuro. Although, he was sure he had plenty of patience considering he was friends with Hau. When they were younger, Hau always brought them into crazy shenanigans. It was always difficult having to stay patient with his best friend when every antic got them into plenty of trouble.

"So now that you have your new Pokémon, we should help Moon find one too!" Hau said in excitement, snapping Sun out of his thoughts.

He nodded in agreement at Hau's suggestion and turned to Moon, who was standing away from them along the side of some trees with Rotom. Sun opened his mouth to ask if she had any idea of what Pokemon she had in mind of catching, but paused upon seeing her expression. Her eyelids were drooped with her gaze directed towards the ground. Sun felt his brows knit into a frown as he called out to Moon. When she didn't respond to his voice, Sun wondered if she was too deep in her thoughts to hear him.

Sun had a feeling that Moon's silence was due to their conversation with Ilima earlier. They had talked a lot about their first trial with the Trial Captain and what they would be facing. While he wasn't that worried, Moon was different. He understood now that she would overthink things that she felt she couldn't successfully do. While it wasn't necessary a bad trait to have, it was a trait that made Sun worry about her.

As Hau walked over to Moon to get her attention, Sun looked away from the two to Kuro's Pokéball in his hand as his mind went back to what the three had discussed with the Trial Captain after finding Moon.

* * *

" _Captain Ilima?! But-" Hau stuttered, but Ilima cut him off._

" _I do apologize, but why not continue this conversation somewhere else other than here? If I may suggest, how about the Malasada Shop?"_

" _O-of course." Sun replied, still stunned that the Trial Captain of their first trial was standing in front of them. He hadn't expected to see Captain Ilima with Moon._

 _With hesitance, Sun and the others, along with Rotom, followed Ilima to the Malasada Shop that Hau and he had left in a rush when they had realized Moon had not follow them. After speaking to one of the ladies at the front desk, Ilima led the three to a small table. He sat down and gestured for Sun and the others to do the same. Confused, the children took their seat and stared back at Ilima with questionable gazes. Ilima only smiled kindly at the three and spoke._

" _Now then, before we begin. Is there anything you would like to eat? Normally, I would give you advice on my trial and where to find it and let you go your way, but Professor Kukui was insistent that I meet and have lunch with you three."_

" _Wait, how did you meet Moon?" Sun asked, narrowing his eyes at the Ilima. Even if Ilima was the Trial Captain, he wanted to make sure he hadn't done anything to Moon. Near him, Hau also narrowed his eyes. Ilima chuckled at their overprotectiveness of their friend. It was nice to see from their expressions how much they cared about Moon._

" _Ah yes, I found Moon after I accidentally bumped into her. I was concerned over why she was running blindlessly in the street, but after she explained to me who she was and why she was in such a hurry, I thought it would be best for me to help her find you two. After all, she was one of the trainers Professor Kukui told me to meet with."_

" _Is that right, Moon?" Sun asked as he turned to Moon. She nodded in response and turned back to Ilima. Ilima noticed how silent she was. He wondered if that had anything to do with their confrontation with Team Skull. Her behavior had certainly changed after her Rowlet had been injured._

" _Excuse me, are you ready to order?" asked a female voice to their right. The four looked over to see a female waitress looking at them with a serene smile, holding onto a small notepad in her hand. Ilima nodded to her in respect and looked back at the trainers._

" _Before we continue, how about we order what we want to eat first?"_

 _Reluctantly, Hau and Sun nodded and ordered what they wanted to eat along with Moon. Ilima waited till their orders had been taken before making his choice. Once the waitress had left with their orders taken, Ilima continued on with their conversation._

" _As I've_ _said before, I am Captain Ilima and you three will be taking my trial tomorrow. Although I won't go into too much detail, you three each will be battling a Pokémon and then will have to come together to face the Totem Pokémon."_

" _The Totem Pokémon? Sun asked._

 _He, along with Hau, had heard of the Totem Pokémon before multiple of times from Professor Kukui during their many visits to his house. From Professor Kukui, they had learned that the Totem Pokémon was the Pokémon that a trainer would face at the end of their trial. They were far stronger than a normal Pokémon, having been trained by Trial Captains themselves to fulfil their role._

 _Ilima nodded in response to Sun's question. "The Totem Pokémon you will be facing will determine if you shall pass my trial. If you do manage to defeat them, it will grant you the right to face this Island's Kahuna, since I am the only captain here on Melemele Island."_

" _You mean Gramps, right!?" Hau proclaimed. He raised his fist into the air in excitement as his grin grew wider at the idea of battling his grandfather. Sun sighed in disapproval over Hau's outburst and gave a slight nudge at him with his elbow, telling him to settle down. Once he did, Sun looked back to Ilima._

" _Is there anything else we should know about the trial?"_

 _Ilima shook his head. "The rest will be explained to you tomorrow. My advice is to be prepared to work alone for the first half of the trial. While it is good to work together, there comes a time when you have to face your own battles. Also note that the Pokémon living within Verdant Cavern are quite fierce. I wouldn't venture inside of it until you think you are ready to."_

" _Got it." Sun replied._

 _Not even a second after Sun had said that, the waitress came back with their food. Sun eyed the food with hesitance as the waitress set them down on the table. He wanted to ask Ilima more about their trial, but the gnawing hunger he had tried to keep back when they walked into the shop lashed out against his stomach. He had to swallow a pool of saliva as he looked back up at Ilima from the food. The Trial Captain simply gave him a closed-mouth smile and nodded for him and the other two to dig in. And that they did, ending their conversation with Ilima._

* * *

"Hey Sun! What Pokémon do you think Moon should catch? I think she should totally catch a Growlithe. Rotom says there should be some here somewhere in the fields."

Sun lifted his head, startled out of his thoughts, and turned to the source of the voice that had called out to him, realizing that it was Hau. Hau now stood over by Moon, with his head turned over to him sightly with a beaming smile. Moon was now looking at him, shaken out of her thoughts as well. Sun had to guess that was due to Hau.

"I think we should leave that up to Moon." Sun suggested, taking a step forward. "Anyway, shouldn't we head to that place you wanted to visit. It's going to get dark soon."

Hau's eyes widened as he looked up at the sky, suddenly noticing that it had indeed changed from dark sky blue to hues of a rich orange color. The fiery sun was slowly sinking beneath the horizon now as it's light touched the clouds, dying them into a scarlet color. Upon seeing this, Hau's eager smile was quickly replaced by a panicked frown.

Sun watched this and sighed over Hau's lack of sense of time. After they had finished eating lunch with Ilima, they parted from him and headed to the Pokémon Center to see if they could stay for the night. After they were promised that they would have a room and dinner waiting for them once they return, they took off to Route 2, deciding it would be best to train and visit Hau'oli Cemetery. Hau had asked Sun earlier if they could visit it before they took their trial. Of course, Sun couldn't say no. He understood why Hau needed to visit Hau'oli Cemetery.

"Aww man! We have to hurry!" Hau cried out, turning back to Sun with something that could only be described as anxiousness. "I have to see them!"

Sun nodded with a small smile, catching sight of Moon's expression of confusion. Nearby Rotom beeped and asked questions of what the two boys were talking about. Instead of replying to Rotom's questions, Sun opted to tell Hau to go ahead, not wanting to keep him waiting. While Hau took off in a sprint on the path to Hau'oli Cemetery, Sun gestured for Moon and Rotom to follow him on the same path, but at a much slower pace than what Hau had took off on. As they walked, Sun decided that it was best to answer Rotom's questions.

"Hau wanted to go Hau'oli Cemetery.' He said. "It's where many, including both people and Pokémon, go to mourn those that they have lost. There's important people there that Hau wants to visit before our trial tomorrow."

" _Bzzzt! Who are these people that Hau wants to see?"_

"His parents." Sun answered in a dull tone, finding the orange colored sky a lot more interesting to look at in comparison to the cemetery that was becoming closer and closer with each step they took.

Surprisingly, Rotom didn't ask anything else after Sun had answered his question. Sun had to wonder if it was due to respect for Hau's privacy. Even if Hau trusted him with information about his parents, Sun knew it wasn't his place to share that information. Only Hau had the right to share it with Moon and Rotom.

When they finally arrived at the cemetery, Sun led Moon and Rotom to the narrow dirt path that was lined by stones. As they walked, Sun noticed of how little the graveyard had changed since the last time he had came. There were still rows of graves, possibly even more now, adorned with flowers, while some with weeds. And there was still the feeling of deep sorrow that weighed heavily on his shoulders. He still could remember vividly the last time he came with Hau and his grandfather and the emotions he felt back then. They were the kind of emotions that he wanted to forget. Even now, he still couldn't bring himself to like Hau'oli Cemetery. It was just a place he didn't have the stomach to stay at for too long.

"Is this Hau'oli Cemetery?" Sun heard Moon ask behind him.

Sun turned to her and gave her a slight nod and paused, catching sight of an old couple not too far from them kneeling down to a gravestone with their heads bowed down to the ground. He felt his throat form a lump as an image of his mom doing the exact same thing in front of a small shrine formed inside his head. Realizing what he was thinking, Sun quickly shook the image away. He couldn't think of that now, not when Moon and Rotom were right next to him. He took Moon's hand into his and led her and the floating Rotom Pokédex away from the mourning couple. They had to allow them to mourn in peace.

Once they were far away from the mourning couple, Sun released Moon's hand and turned back to her seeing her stare at a small gravestone that was near them. It had a small woven basket in front of it with bundles of red and blue flowers inside it. However, many of the flowers were becoming wilted, losing their bright colors. It was plainly obvious that the grave hadn't been visited in some time.

"Do you have someone that is deceased?" Sun decided to ask Moon, partly due to curiosity over why her gaze was on the small grave. He wondered if she was staring at it because it reminded of someone she had lost.

Surprisingly, Moon shook her head and turned away from the grave back to him. "I-I do not, but…"

She bit the bottom of her lip and looked back at the grave with a solemn expression.

"I wish I could understand what that feels like." She said quietly with longing noticeable in her voice.

Sun stared at Moon with confusion, wondering why she would want to experience those emotions. Then again, he understood that there many things that were still unknown about Moon. She did not understand many things during the first few days after she had woken up, like she was completely new to the world around her. Still, in the back of his mind, a faint ember of jealousy flared up over her luck in not losing anyone yet. But just as quickly as it appeared, it was quickly sent away. Sun knew he couldn't be jealous. It wasn't fair for Moon when she was only trying to understand what that felt like.

"I don't know." Sun replied slowly, secretly hoping that Moon wouldn't experience something like that yet. "I think it's nice to not have anyone you miss. It's not a great feeling to have."

Moon nodded slowly and looked back up to Sun with a curious gaze. "Do you have anyone that you miss, Sun?"

Sun felt his body go stiff at her question as his mind began to fill with images that he had thought he had long since buried to the darkest corners of his mind. Stubbornly, he forced them away as he gave a slight nod to Moon. Although he trusted Moon, he didn't have the courage to explain to her whom he lost. Whenever he thought about that person, all he could feel was instant regret and guilt. Those emotions haunted him even as a child. It was only because he had met Hau did Sun learn how to shove those painful emotions away.

"I do…" Sun said slowly. "But it's been too long, so I don't remember them that much. I was only a child when they died."

" _Bzzzt! Who was this person?"_ Rotom piped up by Moon slightly moving away from her to Sun.

"Just a relative." Sun answered in a dry tone.

He looked away from Rotom to the sky that had grown darker. It was now obsidian, speckled with silvery stars that seemed to glow like the embers of a dying flame. Although the moon was not out yet, Sun knew that it was almost time for them to leave. It was not ideal for them to be at the cemetery at night. Not because it was creepy and more quieter, but it was due to the fact that was when Ghost Pokémon liked to come out and roam about.

When they were children, Professor Kukui had always repeatedly warned them about Ghost-type Pokémon. Many liked to prank humans just to see their faces and reactions. And at worst, some Ghost-type Pokémon would have murderous intentions and wanted to bring harm to humans. It was not that surprising considering that Ghost-type Pokémon were connected to the afterlife. But even then, it was all the more reason Sun wanted to play it safe. The cemetary was the perfect place for Ghost-type Pokémon to be lurking around in the dark.

"We should go get Hau." Sun decided to say, looking away from the sky back to Moon. "It's getting dark and I rather we not stay here too longer at this hour."

Moon gaze a slight nod and together, she and Sun walked over to where Hau was. It was not too far away from the entrance from what Sun could remember. Hau's parents' graves were at a small section of the cemetery partly surrounded by fields of grass. When he was younger, Sun considered their graves a pleasant place to be laid to rest, since flowers always grew by the parent's tombstones. It made their graves seem more beautiful in comparison to the ones that had been long since abandoned by people and Pokemon alike.

Sure enough, as Sun and Moon got closer to the area where Hau was suppose to be at, they found him kneeling down before two stones that had a basket of malasadas and flowers sitting in between them. Hau had his palms pressed together before the two stones as his mouth formed words that Sun and Moon couldn't hear in the distance. But if Sun had to guess, they had to be words of declaration. Hau always use to tell him how he wanted to make his parents proud of him, after all what they had done for him. It was the perfect time to let them know what they would be taking on tomorrow.

Not wanting to interrupt Hau, Sun decided to stop along with Moon and let him finish. When Hau finally clapped his hands together a couple of times and stood up from the ground, Sun took that as his cue that it was now okay for them to go up to Hau. Hau immediately noticed them when they walked forward and waved at them with a cheerful grin.

"Hey guys! Sorry for taking so long, but I'm finished now!"

"It's fine." Sun said as he avoided eye contact with Hau's parent's gravestones. "We should be going now. We should head back to the Pokémon Center now."

"Okay!" Hau chirped. He began to move forward to Sun, but stopped upon realizing something.

"Oh yeah, Sun! Did you decide a name for your Pikipek?"

"Piiko." Sun answered, already having decided on the name immediately after he had caught Pikipek. "Now, let's go."

Together, the three trainers began their walk towards the cemetery entrance, all feeling a mixture of emotions, both good and bad, for their coming trial overtake their minds. However, unbeknownst to them, a pair of glowing eyes had its sight on one of the trainer's back. It narrowed its eyes on the trainer and floated back into the ground with one thought in mind: It would certainly keep its sight on the trainer that had caught its attention.

* * *

 **A/N:** Hmm, now I do wonder what that Pokémon was at the end and who they have decided to keep an eye on. Of course, you're free to guess. In the meantime, I will try to get started on working on the next chapter before my break ends. I can't make any promises considering I want to wrap things up with Lost Data by next month.

 **Current Teams:**

Moon: Mikio (Rowlet)

Sun: Kuro (Litten), Piiko (Pikipek)

Hau: Azura (Popplio), Maui (Pichu)


	10. Alone, but Together

**A/N:** Okay, good news for those who are actually still interested in reading this story, I'm alive and back in gear in writing this. I apologize for taking half a year off of this when I should have tried to update when I had finished one of my other stories. But life happens and college can just drag you down hard. The good news is I'm actually going to try to set up a schedule for this story. I've already finished the next chapter and I'm looking to start chapter 12 soon. Probably a two-week schedule for now. I may have a lot of free time right now, but given how I'm going back to school at the end of this month, my writing time will be pretty limited. Anyway, hope you enjoy! This is the longest chapter I've written in a loooong time.

 **Alexandria Prime:** Those are good guesses, but the Pokémon won't be revealed anytime soon.

 **trashyistrash:** I actually bought Pokémon Ultra Moon last year sometime in the fall, but never finished it. Oops. Anyhow, I love your suggestion of Sun's team being the opposite of Moon's team. While their teams are not freshened out yet, I do have an idea what half of their team will look like for now. Thank you for your help!

 **Snowflakekitty133:** Aww thank you! Don't worry, I'll try to update more often.

* * *

 **Chapter 10: Alone, but Together**

"Allow me to formally welcome you to Verdant Cavern. As I've said before, I am your Captain, Ilima, and this is where your first trial shall commence."

At the sound of Ilima's voice, Moon looked away from the scene she had been gazing at in deep thought back to Ilima as she tried to bring her focus back to him. She and the boys were now standing in a small cavern that was filled with a lush variety of green plants that covered some of the rocks. The warm sunlight that seeped through the small holes in the ceiling illuminated the cavern and created a scene that captivated Moon. The cavern was simply beautiful, and yet, it also brought a wave of apprehension to her.

Near her, Moon could see both Sun and Hau grinning excitedly as they eyed the cavern with an eager look. Since waking up and their short breakfast together, the two had talked non-stop about the trial and what they hoped to accomplish. Moon had tried to join in their excitement but found she was unable to. She couldn't lie to them. She was far more afraid that she would fail than being excited about taking on the trial.

"Now, I know I explained to you three what you will be attempting to do in this trial, but I will still go briefly over it," Ilima said with an amused expression.

He turned and pointed forward to a Pokémon, the same one Moon remembered him using in their battle against Team Skull the day before. The Yungoos eyed Ilima as soon as it noticed that it had been pointed at and screeched. It turned and dived forward into a nearby hole in a rock, peeping out with its head as it made a slight hissing sound.

"You three will each find a Yungoos that lurks here in these dens and defeat one. Then, together, you three must reach the pedestal deep within this cave and collect the Z-Crystals there." Ilima explained with a calm smile.

He turned back to the three trainers and paused, regarding each of them as they stared back at him in silence. "Normally, a trainer would only take this trial alone, but I am allowing you three to take it together. However, know that won't be the same for any future trials you take."

"Why are you allowing us to then?" Sun asked.

Ilima looked over to Sun and smiled in amusement. "It is my goal for you three to learn the difference in strength in numbers. This will be beneficial for your journey."

He paused and looked over to Moon, who stared at him in confusion. She had no idea why his attention was focused on her more than the boys.

"I also would like to see how each of you will fight in both situations." Ilima mused.

Just as he was about to say more, a loud roar bellowed out from within the cavern. The three children immediately flinched at the sound as they each clamped their hands over their ears. Ilima remained unfazed to the roar and appeared to only smile more in amusement. When the roar deceased, Ilima let out a soft chuckle and continued.

"That was the Totem Pokémon just now. Many strong Pokémon make their home in this cave, but the Totem Pokémon is the strongest and fiercest of the rest. It resides here as the protector of this Trial Site. And it will be the greatest obstacle you three will have to face if you want to clear my Trial."

"Man… It sounds so strong!" Hau said with nervousness. He turned to Sun and let out a small chuckle. "But we'll manage, right Sun? We didn't come here to lose!"

Sun nodded in agreement and turned back to Ilima. "Is there anything else we should know?"

Ilima nodded his head. "Your Rotom will remain here with me. You only will be permitted to use one Pokémon in this trial. And until you clear this trial, you will not be able to catch any Pokemon that reside here. Now then, let it begin! The Trial of Captain Ilima!" Ilima called out.

He raised his hand and waved it down, gesturing for the three to venture forward as Rotom moved over to Ilima from Moon's side, turning and wishing the three trainers good luck.

At Ilima's command, Sun and Hau wasted no time in moving forward, but they immediately stopped, gazing back at Moon with beaming smiles. Moon stared at them confused, wondering why they had suddenly stopped until she realized that they were waiting for her. She felt her mouth curved into a smile at the thought that they wouldn't allow her to be left behind this time. She was just as part of their group now. And Moon knew that Sun and Hau never left anyone behind. Even if it was her, they would always take her hand and guide her forward. That was the kind of friends they were.

And for a reason she couldn't understand, that thought made her chest flutter more than ever.

Moon had no idea what made her compelled enough to move forward to Sun and Hau's side, but she did just that, allowing them to guide her deeper into the cavern until they came across a series of three paths that led to different directions. They each stared at each path in silence until Sun broke the seemingly deafening silence.

"So this is where we split up…"

"Yeah…" Hua added. He perked up and turned to Moon and Sun, giving them each an eager grin.

"But I'm sure we'll find each other again!"

"Yeah!" Sun agreed.

He turned to Moon, as she gazed back at each of the boys in awe. Sun smiled and held out his fist towards her and Hau. Seeing what Sun was trying to do, Hau laughed and held his fist out too, turning back to Moon, waiting for Moon to do the same. Confused, Moon allowed her hand to curve into a fist and held it out to the other fists in front of her, watching as the boy's fists moved forward and softly bumped against hers.

"Let's do our best and pass this trial together!" Sun declared, his voice echoing loud and clear, brimming with confidence.

Moon couldn't help herself but smile at Sun's words. His words of encouragement were enough to help the festering feelings of anxiousness that were holding her down. While his words may seem small to anyone, they carried a greater meaning to the three, especially Moon. She wasn't nearly as confident and ready for the trial they were about to take like Hau and Sun were, but she wanted to pass it alongside them. She wanted to try her best with her friends.

Holding on to that thought, Moon watched as Sun and Hau gave her last few words of encouragement and turned, moving forward on the individual paths they had selected. She watched as their backs slowly disappear until she could no longer see them, now realizing why a sudden spark of uneasiness had erupted from her chest.

She was alone.

Shaking her head at this, Moon called out Mikio from his Pokéball and asked him to fly ahead to look for Yungoos. She followed her pokemon as he flew ahead on the path, lost in her thoughts. Each step she took felt heavy, but she continued to force herself to move forward. She was alone, but she had Sun and Hau together in her heart. Their spirits were with her. She couldn't forget about that.

"Coo…"

Moon nearly jumped in surprise as she felt something soft land on her shoulder. She turned, smiling in relief when she saw it was only Mikio. Mikio cooed softly and began to rub its head against her cheek. Moon sighed softly as Mikio's feathers brushed against her skin and placed her hand on top of Mikio, petting him gently.

How could she forget? Of course, she was not alone. She had Mikio with her as well. And it was thanks to her Pokémon that she was reminded of that.

"Thank you, Mikio," Moon said in gratitude as she turned her sight back to the path.

It was frightening. She was now in a trial she had no idea that she was even capable of completing. It wasn't that she thought she was weak, but she did not consider herself skilled enough like Hau and Sun. From the many practice battles she had with them, Moon saw how they were both stronger and more tactical than her. Knowing them, she was sure that they were having a much easier time with their trials than her.

But even so, she had to at least try. They both believed in her. While the two were far stronger than her, she wanted to show them that their faith was giving her strength. Both Sun and Hau had shown her a world she never knew existed that was full of life and beauty. They had helped her learn about pokémon and even had received one thanks to their encouragement. It was thanks to them that she was here now in a small cavern taking her first trail. It was thanks to her friends that she now could experience the world.

"Hoot!"

Moon felt Mikio take off from her shoulder watching as he flew over to a small hole within a large rock slightly hidden by small shrubs. Mikio gave out another hoot and landed by the small hole. He looked back at Moon and gestured at the hole with his wing, beckoning for Moon to come over.

Confused, Moon did. She walked over to Mikio and kneeled down at her Pokémon. Just as she about to question Mikio, she heard a short hiss come from inside the hole. Cautiously, Moon lifted her hands and moved the shrubs away from the hole to see what was inside. She didn't expect a Yungoos to suddenly shoot out of the hole, growling viciously at her. Moon barely moved away in time as it moved to bite her. When it tried to attack her for the second time, Mikio was quick to respond and attacked the Pokémon with its beak, sending the Pokemon away at a good distance. As Yungoos regained its bearings, Mikio gave a high pitched hoot and landed in front of Moon protectively with his wings up, taking the time to look back at her into her eyes. Moon stared at Mikio's calm gaze with uncertainty but nodded catching what her Pokemon was trying to convey with his gaze. Mikio believed in her. Even though she wasn't quite sure she was strong enough to pass Ilima's trial, Mikio had complete faith in her.

It was time she started believing in Mikio as well.

"Mikio, use peck!" Moon called out.

Immediately, Mikio's beak glowed and he flew forward towards his target. The Yungoos had no time to move for the incoming attack. It screeched in pain when Mikio's beak jabbed itself into it, sending it back tumbling towards the ground. Thinking that the Yungoos would be too weak to fight further, Moon paused to think about Mikio's next step. Before she could anything, the Yungoos suddenly stood up and shot forward at the small owl pokémon, tackling it head-on.

"Mikio!" Moon yelled in urgency, fear creeping in as she watched helplessly as Yungoo opened its mouth widely and dug its teeth into Mikio's wing.

Mikio screeched at the erupt pain in his wing and flapped both his wings wildly, shaking Yungoos along with it. Moon stared at her pokemon in horror unable to find her voice as her mind began to go back to her battle with the Team Skull grunts. It was the same. Mikio was in pain because of her. Her commands were only causing him to get hurt by his opponent. If anything, she was a sad excuse of a trainer for him.

"Hoot!"

Mikio blinked, shocked out of her thoughts, realizing that Mikio was staring directly at her. Even though Yungoos was still biting hard on his wing, her Rowlet still had his attention directly focused on her. He was waiting for her to call out his next command. Despite everything, it was clear as day that Mikio still believed in his trainer.

"Why Mikio?" She managed to say. She shook her head bitterly and opened her mouth.

"Mikio, use Leafage!"

Mikio wasted no time to respond to Moon's voice. He gave a loud boot and raised his wings, releasing glowing green leaves. The leaves spiraled around him until Moon could no longer see him and Yungoos. Just before she could call out to Mikio, Yungoos suddenly shot out of the green tornado, tumbling towards the ground. She stared wide-eyed at the swirling tornado of leaves that had engulfed Mikio and felt her head nod slightly. She felt her lips curve into a smile and looked back at the Yungoos in front of them that was now getting back up.

She was not going to give on Mikio ever again.

"Go Mikio!" She called out to her Pokemon.

She heard a response from Mikio inside the green tornado of leaves and all at once, the leaves surrounding Mikio shot out toward Yungoos, whose eyes seemed to widened at the incoming attack. Before it could even move, the barrage of leaves struck its body, sending it back to crashing to the ground where it remained still.

"Coo! Coo!" Mikio hooted loudly as it raised itself from the ground. With a flap of its wings, it flew over to Moon and landed softly on her shoulder, burrowing its face into her cheek. Moon giggled at the softness of Mikio's face rubbing onto her skin and placed her hand onto its head. Gently, she took Mikio off her shoulder and wrapped her arms around him, bringing him into her chest.

"Thank you, Mikio." She whispered softly.

She heard Mikio give a barely audible hoot at her words of gratitude and felt the small Pokémon released itself from her hug. She smiled as Mikio hooted at her as it took off to the sky above her, waving its wing toward the path in front of them. She knew what Mikio was trying to convey with his gesture. They still had the rest of the path before them.

Moon had no idea how long she had walked, but the encouragement hoots from above her were enough to keep her moving forward. It wasn't until she saw familiar figures in the distance that her pace began to quicken. When she could finally make out why the two figures looked so familiar, she couldn't help the smile that was breaking through. With a quick return of Mikio back into his Pokéball, Moon broke off into a run with one thought in mind.

She could finally be together with her friends again.

"Moon!" She heard Sun and Hau call out to her.

Moon couldn't help but smile at the boys as they waved at her. She made her way over to them and stopped in front of, short of breath, but pumped as ever. All the anxiety and nervousness that had been trailing behind her had suddenly become mute. It only took the sound of Sun and Hau's voice to make that possible. How could she think that she could not complete this trial? Her friends would always be right beside her to help her conquer her fears.

"Hey, Moon! How did your battle with Yungoos go? Azura had a tough time with her battle with it." Hau recalled with a wide grin, putting both his hands up in emphasis.

Sun chuckled at Hau's attempt to recount Azura's battle with the Yungoos and turned to Moon, smiling in gratitude at what Hau had done. Moon looked a bit shaken when she came running towards them. It was to be expected given how they've always been together. Truth to be told, he had been nervous for Moon when they went on their way to each of the paths they had chosen alone. He was worried that she would get hurt, but now seeing her here in front of him, smiling cheerfully and unharmed sent of a wave of ease and reassurance through him. Moon would be just fine. She had grown tremendously ever since she had woken up after she had been found hurt and alone on the dirt path his mother had found her on. And even now, she would continue to grow, just like Hau and he will do beside her. They will grow together.

"Are you ready, guys?" Sun decided to say, regaining Moon and Hau's attention.

The two turned to him and immediately nodded, both their eyes burning with renewed determination. Sun grinned in response and together, the three continued their way into the deepest depth of the cavern until they could finally see light pouring from the end of the tunnel. In anticipation, the trio continued their trek through the tunnel. When they arrived at their destination, the trio was immediately blinded by the light. As soon as their eyes could finally adjust to the light, the three friends were met with a serene clearing that captivated them.

The clearing they were now in was surrounded by walls that towered around them, with lush vegetation growing in the crevices of the walls. They could barely make out the clouds moving slowly in the sky past the rocky walls nor the bright yellow orb that sent rays of light to them. Even though it was slightly hidden insight from the walls, there still was light being shined from the sky. All around the clearing, there were patches of grass growing as well, even on the cliffs that stood above. On the right of the clearing was a nearby path that led to a cliff, but it was blocked by large boulders, The trio of friends, observed the blocked path, wondering if part of the trial was finding a way through the large boulders, until their eyes settled on a small shrine that was in the middle of the clearing. Cautiously, the three walked towards the shrine. The closer they moved towards it, the more they could see something glistening in the shrine. When they finally got close enough to the shrine, the three could see what exactly was glistening from the soft light from above.

In the shrine was three small gems that both Sun and Hau instantly recognized.

"Z-Crystals…" Sun breathed in wonder.

Not being to contain his excitement at what they had just found, Hau reached his hand out towards the glittering crystals, when suddenly a shrill screech from up above made him freeze. Feeling as if a piercing gaze was now on him, Hau shivered and jerked his hand away from the shrine. He slowly backed away from the shrine along with Moon and Sun as they looked up to see what had called out to them.

What they saw glaring at them made gasp. Standing on the top of the cliff, leering at the trio was a massive Pokémon. With a snarl, the Pokémon kicked off from the cliff to the sky, flailing out its arms and legs, before landing onto the ground with a loud thud on all four of its ligaments. Slowly, the massive Pokémon rose to its feet and bellowed furiously at the trio, revealing the razor-sharp teeth in its mouth. Moon and others were forced to take a step back from as the Pokémon towered over them with fury and fierceness present in its expression.

"A Gumshoos…" Sun gasped, shivering at the idea that this was the Totem Pokémon they had to battle.

Beside him, Moon let out ragged breaths as her eyes widened. Sun immediately noticed this and grasped her hand with his, pulling her out of the panic attack he knew she was close to having. With shock, she turned to him as Sun gave her tight smile, trying her best to comfort her. When he was sure she was focused on him, Sun turned to Hau and nodded at him and looked back at the Totem Pokémon before them.

"Let's do this, guys!" Sun called out, taking out his Pokéball as Hau and Moon did the same.

Noticing that the group of trainers was raring to battle, Gumshoos let out another roar and immediately, a fiery orange aura exploded from the pokemon with enough force that it sent Moon and the other skidding back. When the three regained their bearings, they found Gumshoos staring at them with an intimidating gaze as a burning orange aura glowed around him. Gumshoos was ready to fight them.

"Alright, come out, Kuro!" Sun shouted, releasing his Litten from its Pokéball.

"You too, Azura!" Hau shouted, his voice brimming with excitement.

Slowly, Moon took a deep breath and released her Pokémon just as well.

"Please help, Mikio!"

With a red flash, the three start pokemon appeared before their respective trainers with hot burning determination present in their gazes. Each Pokémon glared at Gumshoos, preparing for the heated battle they knew was to come.

"Kuro! Use scratch!" Sun commanded to his Litten, who dashed forward, his claws outstretched ready to attack. Swiftly, Kuro made contact with his claws on Gumshoos, causing the massive Pokémon to growl in pain. Surprisingly, Gumshoos seemed content on taking the attack, as if it wanted to gauge the strength of Kuro's attack. As Kuro made his way back to Sun, Gumshoos's expression hardened before twisting into something horrendous, that caused the three trainer's Pokémon to let out cries of fear.

"Scary face…" Hau commented as he balled one of his hands into a fist. He waved his hand up, ready to call out to Azura to attack when another roar from Gumshoos made him freeze.

When Gumshoos finally stopped roaring, two Yungoos appeared from the cliffs above, each landing by Gumshoos's side. The two growled at the trio and their Pokémon, showing how prepared they were to join Gumshoos in battle.

Both Sun and Hau looked at each other and sighed as Moon looked at them in confusion. Sun noticed her confused gaze and smiled at her. "Sorry, we just should have known this was going to be harder than what we initially thought it would be."

"Yeah," Hau added with a wide grin. He lifted up his fist and pumped it forward. "But it's nothing we can't take on! Azura, use water gun on one of the Yungoos!"

Azura barked in response and released a torrent of rushing water from its mouth that hit the Yungoos in front of it, sending it skidding back. As the Yungoos regained its bearings, Hau sent Azura to use pound on the pokemon. Before she could, Gumshoos quickly got in front of the still down Yungoos, intercepting the attack and sending Azura back with his body. Hau gritted his teeth as Azura shakily got back up from the rough shove to her body and glanced back to Hau, barking softly, as if she was comforting her trainer. Noticing this, Hau let out a soft chuckle and turned to Sun, nodding at him as the other stared at him in concern. Together, the two turned to their Pokémon and called out their next commands.

"Kuro, use Fire Fang!"

"Azura, use Disarming Voice!"

Immediately, the two Pokémon went into action. Kuro rushed forward, his fangs ablaze in flames as Azura stayed put. She arched her back and opened her mouth, releasing a charming cry that made the two Yungoos become still. Before they could move, Kuro clamped its mouth on one of them, digging its teeth into the Yungoos's body as the Yungoos cried out in pain from the fiery flames that made contact with its body. Before it could swing the Yungoos to the side with its mouth, Kuro was tackled harshly away by the other Yungoos, sending Kuro back to Sun. Kuro quickly recovered from the attack and let out a growl as both the Yungoos rushed forward to him and Azura.

Moon watched in fear as Sun and Hau called out to their Pokémon once more with commands of their next attacks when she suddenly felt a piercing gaze on her that seemed to cut into her. Turning, she felt her stomach make a somersault when she saw who exactly was gazing at her. It happened to be Gumshoo, who was snarling directly at her. It moved forward, its mouth wide open, preparing to chomp its mouth into Mikio, who stood beneath her.

Quickly, Moon called out to Mikio to take to the skies before Gumshoos could get ahold of him and commanded her Pokémon to attack.

"Mikio, use Peck!"

With a flap of his wings, Mikio's beak glowed white and he dove forward, digging his beak into Gumshoos body. Gumshoos snarled and grabbed ahold of Mikio with his hands, preparing to dig its teeth into Mikio's body. Before it could, Moon quickly shouted out Mikio's next attack.

"Leafage, Mikio!"

Mikio let out a shrill hoot and flapped his wings, releasing a barrage of green leaves that completed engulfed his body, causing Gumshoos to release the small owl from its clutches. It staggered back as Mikio let the onslaught of leaves at him, completely engulfing Gumphoos in it. When the leaves finally dissipated, Gumshoos still stood standing, glaring at Moon more than ever, but it was clear to Moon that he had taken significant damage.

"Use Tackle!" Moon shouted to Mikio.

Mikio gave a hoot in reply and dove forward at Gumshoos who lunged forward, its mouth wide open revealing long glowing fangs. Mikio narrowly dodged the fangs and slammed into Gumshoos, making the massive Pokemémon stagger back and roar in anger. Gunshoos pushed forward against the small owl, but Mikio wouldn't allow the other to win. The two continued to push against each other until a wave of sheer force blew out from the two of them, forcing them to apart from one another.

Seeing how strong Mikio was, Gumshoos snarled and narrowed its eyes in fury. Recognizing that the Totem Pokémon was going to attack again, Moon told Mikio to take off higher to the sky. She watched as Gumshoos charged forward, his fangs glowing white, barely missing one of Mikio's wings. Just as she was about to sigh in relief, Gumshoos suddenly leaped from the ground straight at Mikio, catching one of the small owl's wing into its jaw, chomping down hard into it. Mikio let out a piercing screech and together, the two fell forward to the ground as gravity took over. Just as they were about to make contact with the ground, Gumshoos spat Mikio out from its mouth, sending Mikio crashing down at Moon's feet.

Moon worriedly looked over at Mikio as he held the wing Gumshoos had chomped on, cooing softly in pain at each movement he made with it. Moon moved her hands forward to scoop Mikio into her arms, but Mikio dodged any attempt she made to pick him up, looking up at her with a determined gaze instead. With a pang in her chest, Moon realized that even though he was in pain, Mikio was still going to battle Gumshoos. She slowly looked up from Mikio at Gumshoos, widening her eyes when she saw how smug expression the Totem Pokémon had. She felt her stomach churn at the idea that Gumshoos had enjoyed hurting her Rowlet.

Narrowing her eyes, she looked over to Sun and Hau and their Pokémon, now taking in what was happening around her. Despite looking bruised up, both of Sun and Hau's Pokémon were still battling the two Yungoos in front of them at full strength. But it was clear that if they didn't beat the Yungoos soon, the two would become tired and be easily beaten. They had to work together.

Realizing this, Moon called out to both Sun and Hau, getting their attention. They both turned to her in surprise and worry. Quickly, Moon explained to them what she thought they should do to beat both the Totem Pokémon and Pokémon that were assisting him. When she had finished, Moon expected the two to disagree with her plan or offer another one, but to her surprise, they both nodded and smiled, completely agreeing that they should follow her plan.

"Got it, Moon! Let's do it your way then." Hau declared as he raised his fist to the air.

Alongside him, Sun laughed and turned towards the battle, narrowing his eyes in concentration. "Kuro, use Ember on one of the Yungoos and send it to Gumshoos!"

"You too, Azura! Use Water Gun on the other Yungoos!" Hau added.

Kuro meowed in reply and arched its back as small embers of fire appeared on its back, before releasing a small ball of flame from its mouth at one of the Yungoos. By Kuro's side, Azura released a torrent of water from her mouth, clapping her flippers as both the fiery ember and ray of water made contact with both of the Yungoos, sending them colliding back to Gumshoos.

Seeing her chance, Moon raised her hand and moved it forward as she called out to Mikio to attack. "Razor Leaf, Mikio!"

Hooting loudly, Mikio hopped forward from the ground, outstretching its wings and releasing a barrage of leaves at the trio of Pokémon engulfing them in a cyclone of swirling leaves. Loud cries of pain could be heard from inside the swirling cyclone, but Moon paid no heed to it as she turned to both Sun and Hau and nodded at them to finish the battle.

"Wrap this up, Azura! Give them Disarming Voice!" Hau shouted.

"End this with Ember, Kuro!" Sun shouted as well.

Azura nodded and opened its mouth, letting out another charmed cry that instantly made the three Pokemon engulfed in the swirling green tornado of leaves go silent. Meowing in excitement, Kuro dashed forward, arching his inflamed back, as balls of ember were shot from his mouth to the cyclone of leaves, engulfing it in flames. The three Pokémon inside it immediately yelled out in pain, but with each passing second, their cries subsided until the silence was all that remained. Moon and the others watched in caution as the swirling burning flames subsided into smoke, revealing both the Totem Pokémon and his companions laying on the ground covered in burns. Seconds passed in anticipation until it finally hit the trio of friends that they had won.

Before they could celebrate, a loud growl could be heard. The three trainers turned in shock as Gumshoos slowly rose from the ground, narrowing its eyes at the three. Expecting it to attack again, Moon and the others prepared to call out to their Pokémon, but just as suddenly as the Totem Pokémon rose from the ground, it stiffened up and fell forward with a deafening crash. Moon and the boys waited for the Pokémon to rise back up, but the more time the massive Pokémon remained still, the more the group of friends began to realize that they had succeeded.

"We did it! We cleared our first trial" Hau shouted to the sky, turning back to Moon and Sun with joy clear in his gaze.

Sun nodded, smiling as he turned back to the fallen Totem Pokémon, still in disbelief at what they had just accomplished. "We really did beat the Totem Pokémon…" He muttered in a daze.

He shook his head and kneeled down to Kuro and gently patted his Pokémon's head as he thanked him. By Sun, Hau had completely wrapped Azura into his arms, giving Azura his thanks for all she had done for him. Moon watched both of them silently flinching when she felt something soft land on her shoulder. When she realized who had done so, she allowed herself to relax and pet her Pokémon, as he cooed happily, rubbing his face into her cheek in the process. Moon still couldn't believe that the three had won such a tough battle.

As she thought about this, she caught sight along with the others of Gumshoos and its companions rising up the ground. With a wince, they turned around and scurried away towards the cavern, disappearing beyond their view.

"What incredible trainers you three are." Called out a familiar voice.

Turning, Moon and the boys found Ilima walking towards them, his eyes brimming in excitement as he stopped before them. Hovering near Ilima, was Rotom, who immediately shot forward to the three, congratulating them. Once the Rotom had calmed down, the trio of friends turned their focus back to Ilima.

"For you three to be able to beat the Totem Pokémon I had trained up to such a powerful state… I don't know what to say."

Ilima paused and placed a hand on his hip as his lips curved into a thoughtful smile. "By working in harmony with both yourselves and your Pokémon, you have officially cleared the trial of Ilima! You're all phenomenal trainers. I have seen enough to know that you three will accomplish more to come in future trials."

Ilima raised his hand and pointed forward at the shrine behind the three trainers, gesturing for them to walk towards it. "The Z-Crystals from the pedestal are yours now."

Moon, Sun, and Hau turned towards the shrine and walked forward, each scooping up a Z-Crystal from inside it with their hands. Moon stared at the glittering gem in wonder, which was warm to her touch, before looking back up to Ilima, who only smiled in approval at her and the boys.

'What you three have just received are the Normal Z-Crystals, known as Normalium Z. If you let a Pokemon who knows a Normal-type move hold onto that…"

Ilima raised both his arms and struck a series of poses, ending with one arm bent in front of his forehead with the other bent in front of his chest as he pointed both his thumbs in opposite directions. He smiled as he dropped his hands and continued speaking.

"And strike an elegant pose like the one I just did, you will be able to strengthen a Normal-type move by unleashing Z-Power!"

"Z-Power!" Hau exclaimed, his eyes sparkling in excitement. "I've only seen Gramps unleash it a couple of times. I can't wait to do the same!"

Ilima's lips faintly curved into a smile as he chuckled at Hau's words before continuing.

"Moving right along. In every locale where a Captain holds his or her trails, you will encounter the Totem Pokémon, a particularly strong Pokémon, much like the Gumshoos you three just faced. And during battles against these Pokémon, they may summon allies to shore up their offense."

Ilima paused and placed his hand on his hip as he eyed each of the three with seriousness. "As I've mentioned before, I allowed you three to take this trial together, but understand that will not be the same for any future trials you take. You will have to face the Totem Pokémon and any ally Pokémon it calls upon alone if that is the Captain of the trial requires you to do."

"We understand," Sun replied in gratitude. "Thank you for allowing us to take this Trial together."

Ilima offered the three a cheery smile and stepped forward. "If you allow me, I would like to see to your Pokémon after all the hard work they have done here."

Sun and Hau eagerly nodded in response to Ilima's offer to heal their Pokémon, while Moon watched with uneasiness. She watched as Ilima took out small potions from his pocket and sprayed it on the cuts and bruises on each of the Pokémon. When he finally got to Mikio, he paused and looked up to Moon, gazing directly at her eyes with an unreadable expression. Moon stared back, not knowing to say until he simply smiled and went back to his work of healing her Pokémon.

When Ilima was finished, he turned to the three again with a beaming smile. "Now, if we're done here, I advise that you rest for the rest of the day. Meet me in front of this cavern again tomorrow morning. I would like to show you something interesting."

Ilima turned and walked to the entrance of the clearing, disappearing from view without saying a word. Moon watched him as he left before turning to the boys, smiling as both Sun and Hau gazed at each other with wide smiles that conveyed pure triumph over their victory. She felt a familiar warm feeling flutter in her chest as she turned towards the sky, eyeing the puffy white clouds that slowly drifted by. She was relieved that they had cleared the trial and that she had helped Sun and Hau do so. This was her first step in becoming stronger.

'Not just for myself…' Moon thought as she looked over to Sun and Hau with a grateful smile. 'But for everyone who has helped me, including her...'

* * *

 **A/N:** As always, thank you for reading. Reviews are always welcomed~

 **Current Teams:**

Moon: Mikio (Rowlet)

Sun: Kuro (Litten), Piiko (Pikipek)

Hau: Azura (Popplio), Maui (Pichu)


	11. The Meadow

**A/N:** Here's the next chapter. It's short, but don't worry, the next chapter will be longer. It may seem like I'm rushing with things in these chapters and for that, I apologize. I just really want to move the plot forward away from Melemele Island. I also was thinking about posting this fanfic on archiveofourown, but I haven't decided if I should. What do you guys think? Anyhow, hope you enjoy.

* * *

 **Chapter 11: The Meadow**

 _A young girl stood excitedly on a cliff, overlooking a wide field of bright yellow flowers that swayed back and forth from the gentle breeze that blew from afar. By the field of flowers, moving calmly with a soothing rhythm was a bright blue pond. The young girl stared at the pond with large eager eyes. Smiling brightly at what she found, the young girl turned over to the young boy who had finally just caught up to her, calling him over to join her._

 _"Hurry up, ….! You have to see this!"_

 _The young boy let out a groan as he looked up at the girl out of breath. "... we're not supposed to be here. What will …... say when she finds out?"_

 _The young girl rolled her eyes and turned back to the scene before her, not wanting to miss any second of it. "Don't worry ….. She's busy talking to …. friend. We'll be back before she finds out where we are."_

 _The boy still looked troubled but nodded to the girl's reasoning. He lifted himself to the cliff and stood up right next to her, as he too began to take in the colorful scenery before them. He could only let out a loud gasp as the large clearing_ _began to captivate him with its beauty._

 _"This is beautiful…." The boy murmured in wonder._

 _The girl beside him giggled and looked back at the scenery, her face contorting to confusion_ _when she saw how dark and cloudy the once clear and sunny sky had suddenly gotten. She moved to ask the boy about the weather when a shot of lightning made her freeze in fear. She launched herself to the boy, tightening her hold on him as the wind_ _began to suddenly push them from every side. They were forced to kneel on the rocky ledge and cling onto each other to keep themselves steady from being blown away. The two clung to each other for what seemed forever, eyes glued shut and shakily frightened until they felt the rough wind began to gently wrap them in its embrace. Noticing how gentle the wind had become, the girl opened her eyes to look around, her eyes widening when she saw what was now in front of her and the boy._

 _There, floating across from the cliff they were on was a white jellyfish-like creature that had six pointed_ _stars around the crown_ of _the bell on the top of its head. The creature inched closer to the boy and girl, moving one of its tentacles to the girl. She could do nothing but stay frozen as the tentacle caress her cheek, stroking it back and forth. The boy quickly moved to stop the jellyfish creature, but the creature easily tossed him aside and picked the girl up with its tentacles, lifting her up from the ground towards the sky._

 _The girl did everything she could to make the creature release her, screaming as she pounded the tentacle around her waist with her fists, but even though all her efforts, the tentacle wouldn't budge. All she could was_ _watch as the creature took her farther away from the boy towards the dark sky as a purple hole appeared above her, releasing another torrent of wind that forced the boy beneath her to cling onto the cliff for dear life. The girl screamed for him, watching as he lifted his head towards her, gazing at her with wide frightened eyes._

 _His dark grey eyes were the last things the small girl could make sense of in all her fear before she was engulfed by the purple light above her, finding herself falling into a deep dark abyss_.

* * *

Moon's eyes flung open as she bolted upright, gasping for air. Trembling, her gaze darted around the room as she looked for the creature that had her in its clutches, every sense in her body screaming at her to fight it still. When she finally realized that there was no tentacle around her waist and that she was safe on the bed in the room Nurse Joy had assigned to her and her friends, she allowed herself to sag in relief. Slowly, but reluctantly, she moved the soft sheets off of her and dragged her feet off the bed, watching as they dangled above the floor. She turned away from them towards the window next to her as she allowed her eyes to take in the glowing, radiant that was peaking above the horizon out of her window. As her eyes took in every ray of light, she began to go over what she saw in her dream, trying her best to reassure herself that she was fine.

"I'm not there." She whispered to herself, unsteadily, almost unsure of whether this was another dream. But another look at her surroundings was enough to calm her still pounding heart. She was safe. She was not there with the creature that had taken her. It was just a dream- no nightmare. Another nightmare that had turned too real.

"Hey Moon, do you want to get malasadas before we leave or…" A voice piped up from across the room that soon trailed off.

Moon turned away from the window at the sound of the voice that called out to her, watching as Hau walked in through the door. He stopped once his gaze fell on her, his brows knitting in concern.

"Are you okay?" Hau asked.

Moon wanted to nod her head to reassure Hau that everything was fine, but she found she couldn't. All she could do was stare at her friend as the pounding of her heart began to resonate in her ears. She couldn't lie to him. Nothing was right with what she had seen.

To Moon's surprise, Hau didn't push her to answer. Instead, he walked forward to her bed and sat down next to her. With a gentle smile, he turned towards her as his bright eyes seemed to chase all the fear that had taken its hold on her.

"I get them too…" He said quietly, turning away towards the ceiling in thought. "Many times they have jerked me awake in the middle of the night, crying and shivering in fear of how vivid they are. And no matter what I do, they're always over the same thing. It's ironic, huh? The one thing I wish I can forget always comes back to haunt me in my dreams."

Hau paused, and sighed, and looked back to Moon with a serene smile. He laid his hand lightly on her shoulder and spoke with a soft voice that Moon was instantly soothed by. It felt as if she was wrapped in a blanket of his caring.

"But still," Hau continued softly. "I've learned you can't hold it in. You have to talk about it. It may seem hard, but eventually, it becomes easy. That's… That's how it was for me."

Hau's eyes softened at his words as if he was remembering something. Minutes ticked by with the two in complete silence with Moon staring curiously at the other until Hau immediately broke the silence once he realized that he was still talking to Moon. He allowed himself to break into laughter that sounded strained and obviously fake. Moon stared at Hau unsure what to make of Hau's laughter as he took his hand off at Moon, placing his hand behind his head absentmindedly. It felt so wrong for his laughter to sound so fake when he was always so positive around her and Sun.

"Anyway," Hau said with a cheeky grin. "What I'm trying to say is when you think you're ready to talk about your nightmare, you can tell me or Sun. We're here for you."

He stood up and walked over to the door, stopping to turn back to her with a wide grin. "Oh yeah, before I forget, we're having breakfast right now. Don't worry, we'll save you some food. Just take your time, Moon."

Moon slowly nodded as she watched as Hau left, finding herself in complete silence. She ignored the thoughts that began to echo in her head about the advice Hau had given her as she lifted herself off the bed. She was grateful to Hau for taking the time to talk to her and help her relax. She understood that such dreams shouldn't be kept to herself. They would fester and become more vivid until eventually, they would swallow her whole. It was wrong to keep these types of dreams to herself. And yet, no matter how much Moon wanted to, she found she didn't know how to tell Hau and Sun what she saw. It was a new experience for her with the type of dreams she was now seeing. She never saw things that made her wake up in cold sweat, trying effortlessly to forget what she had seen. She wasn't sure how she could tell Hau and Sun about her dreams when she herself, couldn't understand them.

Moon gave a sigh at these thoughts and stumbled forward, closing the door and going right to work in getting ready for the day. Once she was fully dressed and out of her pajamas, with her hair brushed just the way Nashima had taught her, she gathered her bag and walked out of the room, heading towards Sun and Hau would be waiting. She found them seated at a table each eating stacks of pancakes covered in syrup, conversing with each other with Rotom hovering above them. The two immediately waved her over when they saw her walking over to them with large eager smiles that Moon found herself responding to with a bright smile of her own. She sat herself down at their table and helped herself to some pancakes as she became engaged in the conversation the two boys were having. She couldn't help but laugh at Hau's antics to portray himself as Professor Kukui as he along with Sun went over an incident they had stumbled upon once while going to the Professor's lab. Apparently, Professor Kukui was very accident prone when it came to studying Pokémon as they showcased their moves to him.

Eventually, the three had enough of eating pancakes and went to Nurse Joy, giving her their thanks for all she had done for them. Once they made sure they had everything they needed in their bags, they disembarked from the Pokemon Center to the Verdant Cavern once more. Along the way, per Hau's request, they stopped at the Malasada shop for malasadas to snack on for later.

When the three finally arrived at Verdant Cavern, they were immediately greeted by Ilima, who wasted no time to show them to a barricade near the cavern that was locked. With a short explanation of the barrier's purpose, he opened the barricade and bid the three trainers luck on their eventual battle with Hala. But before the three could make their way to the now opened barricade, Ilima had them stop to listen to what he also had to say, specifically to Moon.

"Oh yes, before you leave, might I say a few more words to you, Moon?" The trial captain asked with a beaming smile.

Moon tilted her head in confusion at Ilima's request, but nodded, prompting the young trial captain to continue.

"When we battled together against Team Skull, I was taken in by surprise at the tactics you displayed with your Rowlet. Like both Sun and Hau here, you have bonded remarkably well with your Pokémon to the point that it now fully trusts you. But during that battle, I also saw hesitance in you to continue sending your Rowlet to battle after it had gotten hurt. However, it seems I can no longer see that hesitance you once showed. I take it you now understand what I wanted you to learn in this trial?"

Moon stared at Ilima in astonishment as her mind traveled back to the battles she had during the trial. It was difficult to accept, but she could now fully trust Mikio to keep battling without hesitating. Of course, she would continue to be worried whenever he would get seriously hurt, but she trusted Mikio to let her know when he could no longer battle. She learned to trust Mikio just as much as he trusted her.

Realizing this, Moon allowed her mouth to curve into a gentle smile. She looked up Ilima and nodded at him, grateful for what he had done for her. He had helped her learn how to trust her Pokémon.

Ilima's lips curved into a thoughtful smile. "I see. I hope you continue to take what you have learned by heart on your journey. Remember you are never truly alone, Moon. You are surrounded by both your friends and your Pokémon just as well."

Moon nodded at his advice and once more, Ilima bid her and the two boys goodbye. The three made their way down the path past the barricade, leaving the Verdant Cavern behind them as the cliff-side stretched ahead of them. The three traveled along the cliff for hours that quickly turned to days that was filled with time training their Pokémon as they took in their new surrounds. Since the Grand Trial was supposed to be their most challenging battle yet, Sun and Hau wasted no time to train their Pokémon, teaching them each new tactics that would be useful for the eventual battle with Hala. Moon also joined in during their training sessions. Although she had only Mikio, she was able to get in a substantial amount of training done with him. She was surprised to see during one practice battle with Hau that Mikio had even learned a new move. Sun commented that it wouldn't be long before Mikio would evolve. He was getting faster and stronger with each passing day.

Sun's comment left Moon wondering how Mikio would change when he would evolve. Although she was frightened at the idea his appearance would change, she knew that he would always remain the same Rowlet she had received from Professor Kukui. Sun and Hau helped reassure her that the bonds they had with their Pokémon would still remain the same.

Eventually, after a week of traveling through the cliff, the three friends finally found themselves at two paths, one that led onward on the rocky terrain and another on that led to a small cavern. Curious about what was inside it, the three ventured forward into the cavern, not expecting to be met with a gentle breeze and the beauty the cavern held inside. They were welcomed by a small meadow that was flourishing with fields of yellow flowers. They swayed back and forth in full bloom from the gentle wind overhead as the trees and patches of grass around them did the same.

"Woah, I didn't know this was here." Hau murmured in wonder.

" _Bzzt… This is the Melemele Meadow- A paradise where the Oricono dance. It is well known for the flowers that bloom here and the Pokemon that come to dance alongside the flowers."_ Rotom piped up as he began to take pictures of the meadow.

As the boys asked more questions about the meadow to the Rotom, Moon found herself stumbling forward in a daze toward the blooming field of flowers. She stopped in front of the flowers with a solemn gaze and kneeled down, placing her hand gently on one of the swaying flower petals. She didn't know why, but the meadow of blooming yellow flowers sparked an indescribable emotion in her. It almost felt as if she had seen the flowers in front of her before.

But how could she have when she knew this was her first time here?

Moon quickly shoved this thought aside when she saw the boys walking towards her with worried gazes. After reassuring both Sun and Hau that she was fine and was simply taking in the beauty of the meadow, the three decided to walk to the field of flowers and make their way through it towards a rocky platform that stood ahead of them overlooking the meadow. Although they could see many Pokémon glaring at them barely visible through swaying yellow flowers, no Pokémon made a move to attack them.

Eventually, the three friends found themselves at the tall rocky platform overlooking the flowery meadow, sitting down together with their legs dangling over the ledge, while enjoying some snacks Hau had packed for them. All their Pokémon sat next to them, either basking in the sun in deep sleep or enjoying the food Hau had set out for them. For a while, the three sat in silence, enjoying the comfort of each other as they stared at the meadow in front of them, too fascinated by its beauty. It wasn't until the three had finished eating that the silence was completely broken.

"So pretty soon, we'll be back at Iki Town, huh?" Hau asked with a beaming smile.

"Yeah," Sun replied.

"Which means facing Gramps in a Grand trial…"

Sun blinked and looked over to Hau with an eyebrow raised. It wasn't like Hau to get serious all of a sudden.

"What's wrong? You're afraid you're going to fail?" Sun playfully asked as he lightly tapped Hau's arm with his elbow.

Hau immediately shook his head to Sun's question and curved his lips into a wide grin. "Naw, I'm just worried if we'll be able to beat Gramps. He's really strong."

"True," Sun said with a slight nod. "But so are we now. And we'll continue to become stronger with each trial we take. I bet that maybe even a Guardian Deity will acknowledge us just like how Tapu Koko acknowledged Moon."

Hau's eyes seemed to sparkle at that comment as he eagerly responded. "You're right! And soon, we'll be getting Z-Rings of our own!"

The boys laughed as Moon watched them quietly with a serene smile. She turned her gaze away from the two back to the meadow in front of them as she began to gently pet the Rowlet asleep on her lap. Even though they tried to mask it, she could tell both Sun and Hau were worried about the Grand Trial. And yet, even though they were nervous, the two of them were sharing smiles with each other. She wished she could be like them. She longed to be able to smile as brightly as them.

Even so, that didn't stop Moon from trying to join in the boy's conversation. After an hour of talking, the three packed up and walked back to the meadow's entrance. Before they exited it, Moon made sure to take one last glance at the meadow. Even though it reminded her of the nightmare she had, she wanted to carve the memory of it inside her heart. Its beauty and the peace it offered was a reminder of the things she had to look forward to now.

It was a reminder that she wasn't alone anymore.

* * *

 **A/N:** As always, thanks for reading! The next chapter will be about the Grand Trial.

 **Current Teams:**

Moon: Mikio (Rowlet)

Sun: Kuro (Litten), Piiko (Pikipek)

Hau: Azura (Popplio), Maui (Pichu)


End file.
